


The Home We Built

by MakeBreakfastNotWar



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Grieving, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, M/M, Minor Character Death, Post-Canon, Recovery, Slow Burn, Trans Male Character, Trans!Aaron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 04:12:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15922622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MakeBreakfastNotWar/pseuds/MakeBreakfastNotWar
Summary: Aaron and Katelyn decide they want to have kids, and ask Kevin to be their sperm donor. When Aaron finds himself faced with raising the twins alone, Kevin steps in to help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally done! The art in the fic was done by my amazing friend Brittany (heybay101 on tumblr), and I couldn't have done it without my beta, [Just_another_shipper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_another_shipper) ([just-another-shipper](http://just-another-shipper.tumblr.com) on tumblr).

Aaron clocked out of his shift at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and glanced at his phone. He had a few new messages from Katelyn, who had worked an early morning shift and finished a few hours before him. 

 

_ (2:32 p.m.) Can you pick up a bottle of wine on the way home?  _

 

_ (2:32 p.m.) I want to have a nice dinner tonight :) _

 

_ (2:33 p.m.) I’m making spaghetti _

 

He sent back,  _ u got it <3 _ and headed out to his car. He wondered if he was forgetting a special occasion, but their anniversary had been earlier that week, and Katelyn’s birthday wasn’t for another two months. 

 

Twenty minutes and a bottle of red that would go well with Katelyn’s homemade pasta sauce later, Aaron pulled into the driveway of their home. It wasn’t much- a modest bungalow with a two-car driveway- but it was theirs. He and Katelyn had made it all the way through medical school, paid off their bills, and built a life together. 

 

“I’m home,” Aaron called out as he opened the door. He found Katelyn in the kitchen, and stretched to kiss her on the cheek. “What’s the occasion?”

 

“Let’s just wait until we’re settled down to eat,” Katelyn replied, moving around Aaron to strain the pasta. “Can you set the table?”

 

Aaron wasn’t worried about the deflection, he was used to the routine.

 

The couple normally took turns with cooking and cleaning, setting the table and doing the dishes. Katelyn made just as much as Aaron did at her job as a pediatric surgeon, so he had no illusions about being the breadwinner and coming home to a hot meal every day. They both worked hard, but they did the work together. 

 

Once they were sitting across from one another, passing spaghetti,salad, and bread back and forth until they were each served, Aaron’s curiosity won out at the same time that Katelyn’s excitement could no longer be contained. 

 

“Now can I a-?”

 

“I want to have a baby.”

 

Aaron blinked. This was not entirely unexpected, it was something that they had talked about in vague terms when they had discussed their future together, and it was something they both wanted. He hadn’t realized that Katelyn wanted it right now, but it made sense. They had finished paying off their debts two years ago, and had settled into their jobs and their life enough to actually start putting away money. 

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay?” Katelyn asked hesitantly. 

 

Aaron’s grin was growing, and his voice was sure this time. “Okay, let’s have a baby.”

 

*

 

As it turned out, it wasn’t that simple. They had known all along that they would have to go through the process of artificial insemination, since Aaron was trans. They had also known that Aaron would have to carry the baby, because Katelyn was infertile. What they hadn’t talked about, was who the other father would be. 

 

“We could just get an anonymous donor, through the sperm bank or whatever,” Katelyn suggested. They had long since finished dinner and were sitting on the couch together to continue their discussion.

 

“I don’t want my kid growing up never knowing one of their biological parents,” Aaron argued. “It should be someone we know. Do you have any cousins who could help?”

 

“Only one, and she’s a woman too,” Katelyn told him. “What about one of the Foxes?”

 

“I’m related to half of them,” Aaron said. 

 

She persisted, “Yeah, but what about the other half?”    
  


“Neil would be too weird, and Matt already has his own kids. I don’t know, there’s just  _ something _ that rubs me the wrong way about our kid growing up not knowing their siblings.” 

 

Katelyn winced, but she still wasn’t giving up. “Kevin?”

 

“Kevin… could actually work. He cut back on his drinking years ago, obviously he’s in great physical shape as an Exy player, and he’s attractive too…” Aaron mused 

 

“Attractive?” his wife asked, smirking. 

 

“Just because I’m mostly straight doesn’t mean I don’t have eyes.”

 

Katelyn had her phone out, a step ahead of Aaron. “Kevin’s team is playing their first game of the season here. Why don’t we invite him over for dinner while he’s in the area? It can’t hurt to put the idea on the table.”

 

“Okay, I’ll send him a text,” Aaron told her. 

 

*

 

_ (8:46 p.m.) ur playing in chicago in a couple weeks, right? wanna fly out the night before and have dinner with katelyn and i? _

 

_ (9:01 p.m.) Sure :) It will be good to catch up. _

 

*

 

Kevin flew out a day before his team, so Aaron and Katelyn offered to let him stay in their guest room that night instead of getting a hotel. Katelyn was already waiting at the curb when he walked out of the airport, and he spent the car ride back filling her in on what some of the Foxes that Aaron wasn’t as close with were up to, while she in turn updated him on some of the Vixens she’d kept in touch with. 

 

They arrived at the house to find Aaron putting the finishing touches on dinner. As Katelyn set the table and Aaron brought out the food, Kevin was struck by how easily they worked around and with each other. Soon they were all seated, and most of the dinner was spent reminiscing about the glory days of the Foxes. Conversation came easily, and as he thought back to when they lived together in university, Kevin truly realized how far he and Aaron had each come from the broken men they’d been all those years ago. 

 

*

 

When they had finished dinner and moved over to sit in the living room, Katelyn broached the subject. 

 

“While we obviously love seeing you just to catch up, we actually invited you for a reason,” she started. When Aaron just nodded in encouragement and made no move to jump in, she continued, “Aaron and I want to have a baby. And we wanted to ask you to be our sperm donor.” 

 

Kevin’s eyes widened, and at first he didn’t respond at all. 

 

“You don’t have to decide right away,” Katelyn rushed to reassure him. “Aaron has been off T for a month already, but we still need to meet with the fertility doctor to find out whether he can start ovulating again. Just… give it some thought?”

 

Kevin swallowed, and for a moment his eyes darted back and forth between Aaron and Katelyn as though he was waiting for one of them to laugh. When they didn’t, he nodded. “Okay. I’ll think about it,” he said.

 

The following morning Kevin treated Aaron and Katelyn to breakfast, to thank them for hosting him the night before. Katelyn recommended a diner around the corner from their house, and the conversation flowed easily as the hostess seated them and brought the coffee over. Once they had placed their orders, Kevin set his coffee down and cleared his throat.

 

“I thought about it a lot last night, and I would be honored to be your sperm donor,” Kevin told the couple, smiling. “But if we do this, I want to have some contact with the kid. I don’t want custody or anything, I just don’t want someone out there in the world not knowing I’m their biological dad. And,” he paused, face growing serious, “if anything ever happened to you two, I would want to be named the legal guardian.”

 

Aaron was impressed, Kevin seemed to have put a lot of thought into this and maybe even rehearsed that little speech. He must have been up late the night before. Sharing a look with Katelyn, Aaron knew they were on the same page. “That all sounds totally doable,” he said. “There would be a contract, outlining what kind of contact you’re entitled to, and naming you the next legal guardian. Like Katelyn said, we have to talk to the fertility doctor and make sure I can actually start ovulating again, and then we can arrange for you to fly out?”

 

“Right. I’ll send you my game schedule, so that you can either pick a time that I’m in town already, or a time that I’m between games.”

 

“Great! We’re so grateful that you’ve agreed to do this for us,” Katelyn said warmly. 

 

When they got back to the house, they all sat down around Aaron’s laptop and hashed out some of the details they each wanted included in the contract. “We’ll get our lawyer to draw it up properly, and then she can send it to yours to go over with you?”

 

“Yes, that should work. Let me know when you talk to the fertility doctor,” Kevin replied. “I should probably get going, I’m supposed to meet the team soon.” 

 

“Safe travels,” Katelyn wished him, “and good luck at your game tonight!”


	2. Chatper 2

Kevin turned on his phone as he got off a plane a week later, and found a missed call from Aaron and one new voicemail. He listened as he walked out to his car.

 

_ “Hey Kevin, it’s Aaron calling. We just got out of the appointment with the fertility doctor, so give me a call back and we can figure out the scheduling.” _

 

Kevin immediately hit redial as he climbed into the car, wondering what the news would be. The phone connected to the bluetooth just before Aaron picked up on the second ring. 

 

“Hey.”

 

“Hey. It’s Kevin,” he said, wincing at his awkwardness. 

 

“Yeah, I know, everyone has caller ID these days,” Aaron laughed. “You got my message?”

 

“Yeah, what did the doctor say?”

 

“I’m in good health and my reproductive system all still works. They recommend keeping donor sperm frozen for six months, so that you can be tested for infectious diseases, but I’m guessing you’re tested regularly as a pro athlete anyway, right?”

 

“Yeah, I’m up to date on all my tests. I can send the files over.”

 

“Great. In that case, we just have to provide the two most recent tests to show you’re clean and have been for a while. I’ll be ovulating May 20-25 and then again June 17-22. The ideal days are apparently the last three, which would be Wednesday-Friday either way. Katelyn and I checked it with your schedule and we were thinking the week in June would work best because you don’t have a game that weekend?”

 

“I’ll have to look at the calendar when I get home, but if you already checked it against my game schedule then it should be fine,” Kevin said. “I don’t really do much else,” he chuckled, playing his complete lack of social life off as a joke.  

 

“Great. We can host you for all three days, just in case something goes wrong and we have to try again.” 

 

“So um, how does it actually work? Do we-?” Kevin started, but Aaron cut him off, laughing.

 

“We don’t have to sleep together, don’t worry. You jerk off in a cup and they put it in my uterus through a catheter,” he explained. 

 

“Right, that makes sense. I didn’t think we had to have sex,” Kevin said, maybe a bit defensively.

 

“I distinctly remember you dropping your biology class in university, so I’m not going to make any assumptions about what you do or don’t think,” Aaron teased. “But anyway, check your calendar and get back to me about that week, okay?”

 

“Yeah, will do. I’ll text you when I get home.”

 

“Okay, talk to you later.”   
  


“Bye.”

 

*

 

Katelyn had gone a bit overboard, buying three different pregnancy tests when Aaron told her that his period hadn’t come, but as Aaron stared at all three positive results he was glad to have them to confirm what he was seeing.

 

“Babe? Are you okay in there?” Katelyn called from outside the door.

 

Aaron ripped the door open, unable to contain the smile growing on his face. “We did it,” he said softly, still not fully believing it. “I’m pregnant.” 

 

Katelyn’s arms were around him in an instant as she kissed all over his face, and soon they were both laughing and crying and holding each other. 

 

“We have to call Kevin!” Aaron realized, digging out his phone. Katelyn leaned into his side as he dialed and put it on speaker. 

 

Kevin answered right away. “Aaron?”

 

“I’m pregnant! We did it, we’re going to have a kid,” Aaron told him. 

 

“Congratulations!” they could hear the smile in Kevin’s voice. “Is Katelyn there with you?”

 

“I’m here,” she answered. “We’re so happy, thank you so much.” 

 

“You’ll keep me in the loop, send me updates when you have appointments and stuff, right?” Kevin asked. 

 

“Of course,” Aaron assured him. “And you should probably uh, talk to your PR people. I mean, you have a few months, we’ll probably wait to start telling people until after the first trimester. But if we all want the kid to grow up knowing you’re the biological father, then there’s always a chance that it will get out to the broader public. So, I guess your PR will probably want some warning.”

 

“Right, of course. I’ll call them after I get off the phone with you. I’m so happy for you both, I can’t believe it’s really happening. God, I’m gonna have to tell my dad. You’ll tell me before you make an announcement so I can talk to him first, right?”

 

“Of course we will,” Katelyn said. “You’ll be kept up to speed every step of the way.”

 

“Okay, I should get back to practice. I’ll talk to you later.”

 

*

 

“Hello?” Wymack hadn’t been expecting a call from Kevin today, so this was a pleasant surprise.

 

“Hi, Dad. I have some pretty big news for you,” Kevin started. “You can’t tell anyone else yet, they’re going to make the announcement next week.”

 

“What announcement?” Wymack asked. 

 

“Aaron and Katelyn are having a baby,” Kevin told him. 

 

“So why am I getting a call from you and not Aaron?”

 

“They asked me to be the sperm donor. I won’t be raising it or anything, but I thought you should know that there’s going to be a kid in the world that’s biologically your grandchild,” Kevin said, and Wymack could hear the gravity in his son’s voice now. 

 

He was speechless for a minute, and when he found his voice again it was rough with emotion. “Congratulations, son. Even if you’re not raising the kid, I know you’ll care about it. Should I give Aaron a call, or wait until they make the announcement?”

 

“Maybe wait, it should only be a few more days anyway.”

 

“Okay. I’m so proud of you,” Wymack told him. 

 

*

 

“Okay, it’s going to be a bit cold,” the ultrasound tech said, before squirting freezing gel on Aaron’s stomach. “Let’s see here.” 

 

She moved the wand over his skin, and suddenly there was a picture on the screen. 

 

“There’s the head, and- Oh! I think… yes, there’s a second. Congratulations, you’re having twins,” she smiled, and Aaron’s hand scrambled for Katelyn’s beside him. He had never been particularly emotional, but the pregnancy had him weepy.  All he could think about was his children getting to grow up with the bond he and Andrew had been robbed of early in life. Now that the tech had pointed out the shapes, Aaron and Katelyn could see the two babies’ heads on the screen. 

 

“I can’t wait to tell Kevin. And you’ll have to call Andrew too, I wonder what he’ll think,” Katelyn mused. “My mom is going to be so happy, she’s obsessed with twins.”

 

Aaron just lay there, glad they would be getting images from the ultrasound because he was having trouble seeing through his happy tears.

 

*

 

_ (4:13 p.m.) Neil: Andrew, Kevin, and I are all playing in the LGBTQ+ charity Exy game, it’s February 16th. I was thinking you could all come watch us, and we could have a bit of a reunion? We can get all your tickets. _

 

_ (4:16 p.m.) Allison: matt & i are in the game too you dink, the lineup was released an hour ago. so renee and dan already have tix _

 

_ (4:17 p.m.) Aaron: im gonna be 8 months pregnant, are u gonna pay for me and katelyn to fly out first class? _

 

_ (4:17 p.m.) Andrew: it’s in milwaukee, i think you can manage the drive. we’re getting your wife’s ticket too.  _

 

_ (4:18 p.m.) Nicky: does that mean you’re also getting erik’s ticket? we’ll make sure to get the vacation time!! _

 

_ (4:21 p.m.) Neil: Yes, we’re getting Erik’s ticket as well. And I think Kevin is inviting Wymack and Abby, and Andrew is bringing Betsy. So it will be a true reunion! _

 

_ (4:27 p.m.) Dan: can’t wait to see u all! :) _

 

*

 

“Ready to go?” Katelyn asked, wandering out of the bathroom. 

 

“I’ve been ready for the last twenty minutes, dear,” Aaron said. 

 

“Don’t give me that look, we’re not even late!” Katelyn laughed, bringing Aaron his shoes. 

 

They took Katelyn’s car, and sure enough, when they pulled into the stadium they were fairly early and got a parking spot close to the building. When they got up to the usher, Aaron gave his name and the man did a double take when he looked from Aaron’s belly up to his face. “Right this way  _ sir _ , I’ll get your tickets and show you to your seats. Do you need any assistance?”

 

“Is it far?”

 

“No, your gate is just around the corner.”   
  


“Then I should be fine to walk, thank you.” 

 

The usher lead them to a counter where their tickets were waiting, and then brought them to the amazing seats that the athletes got complimentary tickets for. Apparently some of the others had decided to show up early as well, because Dan, Wymack, Abby and Bee were all sitting in the row in front of theirs already. Aaron had the aisle seat, and once the hugs and greetings had been exchanged, he and Katelyn got settled and started catching up with the others. 

 

Renee, Nicky and Erik showed up together a while later, and carefully picked their way to their seats on the other side of Katelyn, trying not to jostle Aaron too much. 

 

“You look just about ready to pop, Aaron! When are you due?” Erik asked. 

 

“March 13th.”

 

“Have you figured out the names yet?” he wanted to know. 

 

“Morgan and Taylor. We haven’t really decided on middle names yet, though,” Katelyn said. 

 

“You mean you’re not naming one after me?” Nicky teased. 

 

“Well, we wanted to go with gender neutral names so there's less chance of them needing to change later. Apparently the paperwork is quite the hassle,” Katelyn explained. 

 

“That sounds very sensible,” Abby said, smiling. She had offered to come help out when the babies were born, and since Aaron didn’t have any parents to lend a hand, he had accepted the offer. She would be coming to stay in a nearby hotel a few days before the due date and sticking around probably for the first week or so. Even Kevin was in the Exy off-season for the next four months, and he wanted to be present for the birth. 

 

The game wasn’t particularly high stakes, but it was still fun to watch. Some clever organizer had pitted couples and former teammates against each other wherever possible, so Andrew, Allison, Jean Moreau, and Sara Alvarez were on one side with Neil, Kevin, Jeremy Knox and Laila Dermott on the other. It also meant that one team was stacked a bit more offense-heavy and the other was more defensive, but it made for an interesting game at least. 

 

In the end, putting Neil and Kevin on the same team gave their side an incredibly unfair advantage because they had been playing together for almost ten years at this point. Of course, Andrew had been playing with them for just as long, so whichever team had two of the three would have had an advantage, but putting the two strikers together created a comical imbalance. The final score was 15-10, and the only reason the difference wasn’t greater was that Andrew had only given up two goals in the time he was playing. 

 

Aaron usually put on the game when his friends were playing, but he had forgotten how much fun it could be to go to a live match. He found himself on the edge of his seat at times, even though it was just a charity game with nothing on the line. 

 

After the game, Aaron and Katelyn gave Nicky and Erik a ride over to the restaurant where Kevin had reserved a room for the group to have their reunion. Dan’s group beat them there, and the rest weren’t far behind. 

 

Aaron found a somewhat unlikely conversation partner in Dan for most of the night; she and Matt had started having kids a few years ago so she could relate to some of what Aaron had been going through in the past few months. Meanwhile Katelyn was catching up with Allison and Renee, who had just returned from a two-week vacation in the Caribbean. 

 

The Foxes had all settled into themselves and mellowed out quite a bit since university, so it was a nice evening of laughter and good (if sometimes ridiculous) conversation. At one point Wymack pulled Aaron aside to gruffly tell him, “I’m proud of you, son. Your kids are going to have an amazing family.” If Aaron took a few more minutes in the bathroom to compose himself after that, well, he blamed the pregnancy hormones. 

 

By the end of the night, Aaron was yawning as he and Katelyn walked out to the car. “Take a nap, babe,” Katelyn suggested as she climbed into the driver’s seat, “I don’t mind.” 

 

Aaron felt bad sleeping while Katelyn had to make the drive home in the dark, but in the end he didn’t have much choice. Ever since he was young he had fallen asleep easily in cars, and when he had a long day like today, there was no chance of keeping his eyes open. 

 

*

 

A blaring horn startled Aaron awake. 

 

For a split second, headlights silhouetted Katelyn.

 

Then the world was spinning. 

 

*

 

Flashing lights streamed behind Aaron’s eyelids. He could hear voices around him, but couldn’t make out the words. 

 

He couldn’t focus on anything beyond the pain. 

 

He blacked out again. 


	3. Chapter 3

Andrew’s phone went off in the airport where he, Kevin and Neil were waiting for their 2am flight back to Dallas to start boarding. He showed Neil the number flashing on the screen; it had a Chicago area code but it wasn't Aaron or Katelyn’s. Neil shrugged as Andrew picked up. 

 

“Hello?” …  “Yes.” There was a pause while he listened to the person speaking, and Neil watched tension seep into his frame. “Where.” He paused again, listening, and then hung up and started walking out of the airport. 

 

“What happened?” Neil asked carefully as he and Kevin followed. Before Andrew could answer, Kevin’s phone went off. 

 

“Hello?” …  “Speaking.” Whatever was being said made Kevin’s face drop as the phone clattered to the ground. He scrambled to pick it up again, glanced at Andrew and seemed to realize something, and said, “We’re already on our way,” before hanging up as well. 

 

“Aaron and Katelyn were in a car crash,” Kevin told Neil as they followed Andrew, who hadn't paused in his beeline for the doors. “He’s gone into labour, the twins are going to be delivered tonight. They called me as well because I’m the next legal guardian for the twins.” 

 

Neil waited for Kevin to make the conclusion that he had already reached. 

 

“Oh my god, if they need a legal guardian...” he trailed off, seemingly unwilling to finish the thought. 

 

“They’re letting Aaron go through labour instead of just doing a C-section, so he must be okay enough for that, right? And Katelyn might just be badly hurt,” Neil tried, but it sounded weak to his ears. 

 

*

 

Aaron knew the faces looking down on him were familiar, but a wave of pain was passing through him, making it hard to focus enough to place them. As the discomfort eased, somewhere in the back of Aaron’s mind, he realized he was having contractions. 

 

“Where’s Katelyn?” he tried to ask, but all that came out was a mumble. 

 

The stretcher he was on stopped moving, and someone was speaking to him. “We’re going to move you to the bed now, okay Aaron? Ready, one, two, three!” and on three, he was lifted over to a hospital bed. 

 

Now that he was between contractions, he was able to recognize some of his coworkers in the room, including Sam, who was one of Katelyn’s good friends and the doctor who had agreed to deliver the twins. People moved around him, adjusting the bed and telling him things, but Aaron only had one question on his mind. “Where’s Katelyn?” he managed to get out this time. 

 

“Oh, Aaron,” Sam began, pity in her eyes and sorrow in her voice. 

 

Aaron couldn’t hear anything else she said over the rushing in his ears. He didn’t need to hear it though to know. He felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, and didn’t even try to hold them back because what was the point if he wasn’t being strong for Kate? 

 

Contractions were supposed to cause pain in the lower stomach, but it was his chest that felt like it was being torn apart. 

 

*

 

They got to the hospital in record time, and the receptionist gently told them that Katelyn had been pronounced dead on the scene. Kevin all but collapsed into a chair, and Neil put a tentative hand on his shoulder while Andrew tersely pressed for more information. Aaron was in labour and doing well so far, she told them. Andrew and Kevin were allowed to go back to the delivery room since they had been on the pre-approved list for Aaron’s delivery scheduled almost a month from now.

 

While Andrew and Kevin followed her back, Neil went outside to make calls. He figured the hospital must have contacted Katelyn’s family, and he wouldn’t have numbers for them anyway. His first call was to Nicky, who was supposed to be leaving with Erik the next day to visit Allison and Renee. He had to redial twice before Nicky picked up. 

 

“Hello?” he asked, his voice rough from sleep. Neil heard rustling, and then Nicky came through clearer. “Neil?”

 

“Aaron was in a car crash. He’s gone into labour, they’re trying to deliver the babies. Katelyn didn’t make it. We’re at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, in Chicago.”

 

There was some fumbling again, and what sounded like the beginning of a panic attack, before Erik’s voice came over the line. “Can you tell me what you just told Nicky?” 

 

Neil repeated himself, and listened as Erik wrote down the name of the hospital. 

 

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

 

Neil didn’t know who else he should alert to Aaron’s condition, but he knew who Andrew and Kevin needed right now. 

 

“Neil?” Betsy answered after only two rings, used to waking up in the middle of the night to talk to patients in need. “What happened?”

 

Neil explained the situation again, and then made a similar call to Wymack. While he was still on the phone, he heard a knock in the background and realized that Betsy must be in the same hotel as Wymack and Abby. With them all up to speed, Neil finally went back inside.  

 

Just over an hour later, Betsy, Abby and Wymack walked in. They hadn’t been scheduled to return home until the next day. Apparently Abby had also been approved to be present for the delivery, because she went right over to the receptionist and a nurse was paged to bring her back. Wymack and Betsy made their way over to where Neil was sitting in the mostly empty room. Nicky and Erik showed up a while later with coffee for everyone, having texted Neil to get the order, and they all settled in to wait. 

 

*

 

“...stress has forced his body to go through the labour faster than normal, he’s going to be ready to start pushing any minute now,” Sam was saying, probably to Andrew and Kevin, who Aaron was pretty sure had come in within the last half hour. He was having trouble focusing; the only time he was distracted from the insurmountable pain in his chest was during the contractions that ripped through him with increasing frequency. 

 

Sam was talking again, and she paused and looked at Aaron expectantly. 

 

“Sorry, what?”

 

“I said, it’s time to start pushing. Are you ready?”

 

Aaron lost all sense of time and awareness of his surroundings after that. He had never felt so much pain before, not when he was six and he felt the betrayal of his mother hitting him for the first time (he’d pretended the bruise was from walking into a door), not when he was ten and his mother broke his arm (he’d pretended he’d fallen down the stairs), not when he was seventeen and he found out that his mother was dead (he’d pretended it had been an accident and not a murder). None of those even came close to agony he was in. 

 

During the worst years of his life, he’d never been able to rely on anyone. Then, Katelyn came along and changed everything. And he fought like hell to keep her in his life, to not lose her to Andrew’s “protection”. But even after all of that, the one night he needed her most, the hardest night of his life, Katelyn was gone. _It_ _wasn’t fair_. She was supposed to _be_ here, holding his hand. Instead, Abby was sitting next to him, reminding him to breathe. Aaron wasn’t sure when she’d arrived. He trusted Abby, and she was reassuring, but she wasn’t Katelyn and all he could think about was that the wrong person was next to him. 

 

*

 

Neil was no longer bothering to keep track of time when a nurse appeared in the doorway. He supposed that after seeing Andrew and Kevin, she was prepared for another Exy player because she recognized him quickly and headed over to their group. “You’re here for Aaron Minyard?” she confirmed.

 

Neil nodded.

 

“Aaron is stable, and the twins both made it. They’ll have to stay in the hospital for a little while because they were premature, but we’re confident that there will be no complications,” she told them, smiling. “We’re limiting the visitors to those who were originally approved by Aaron for now, that’s just Andrew Minyard, Kevin Day, and Abigail Winfield.” 

 

“What about me? I’m Aaron’s cousin,” Nicky spoke up, “and he’s the twins’ grandfather,” he finished, gesturing to Wymack. 

 

“We’re only taking those who were approved to attend the birth back right now. He probably won’t be awake for a while anyway, I recommend the rest of you go home and get some sleep. You can come back tomorrow during normal visiting hours.”

 

Neil sent the others on their way, knowing there was nothing more they could do that night, and resigned himself to waiting for his husband. 

 

*

 

 

When Aaron woke up, he recognized the room as one in the maternity ward at Northwestern Memorial. It was the middle of the night and Kevin was asleep in a chair beside him. The clock on the wall read 5:02am. 

 

“Hey,” he said, or tried to say, but nothing came out. He coughed, cleared his throat, and tried again. “Kevin.”

 

Kevin’s head jerked up. “You’re awake.”

 

Aaron coughed again. “Water?” he croaked.

 

“Oh, yeah,” Kevin got up and seemed to take a moment to orient himself, before he found a glass of water on the table beside Aaron. “Um, do you remember what happened? Should I get a nurse?”

 

Aaron thought about it. It was slowly coming back to him, he and Katelyn had been driving home, he had fallen asleep. Suddenly he remembered. A flash of light. A blaring horn. The twins. 

 

Katelyn was gone. They would never sit down for dinner together again. They wouldn’t raise their children together. They wouldn’t grow old and retire and go on that vacation to Disneyland that Katelyn had desperately wanted to take the kids on when they were old enough. He would never again make breakfast in bed for her. They wouldn’t-

 

“Aaron?” a familiar voice cut through his spiralling thoughts, and he sucked in a breath. “I need you to breathe, Aaron,” Betsy continued, her voice coming from Kevin’s phone on the bed between them. “Since I’m not there, you’re going to time your breaths with Kevin’s.”

 

Kevin looked startled to hear his name, but he caught on quickly and exaggerated his breathing a bit so Aaron could pay attention to it. When he felt like he could speak again, Aaron said, “I need to talk to Bee alone,” and picked up Kevin’s phone to take it off speaker. He tried not to feel guilty about the way Kevin’s face fell before he left the room. 

 

*

 

Kevin found Andrew in the hall, looking into the nursery through the window. He sank heavily to the floor by Andrew's feet, wishing for a drink for the first time in years. 

 

“He’s talking to Betsy, I guess he’ll need some time to process everything. I can't believe Katelyn’s really gone,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. 

 

Andrew said nothing, although Kevin knew he was listening. 

 

“I was…” Kevin hesitated, not sure if Andrew would take him seriously. “I was thinking about finding a place here, for the next few months at least. Aaron is going to need some support, and the season doesn’t start again until May anyway.” 

 

Andrew still didn’t outwardly react, but Kevin thought a bit of the tension bled out of his frame.  


	4. Chapter 4

Aaron felt as though he were watching his life happen from across the room for much of the following week. Conversations happened around him and probably with him, but he rarely felt engaged. Aaron, Morgan and Taylor were to remain at the hospital until the twins were healthy enough to be out in the world, which ended up taking five days. 

 

Every day two nurses would bring the girls from the nursery into Aaron’s room. Many of Aaron and Katelyn’s friends, nurses they’d both worked closely with, had managed to pick up this duty. Aaron knew they meant well as they offered their condolences and their support and their fucking thoughts and prayers, but he could barely look at them. Abby would thank the nurses and send them away. Aaron would hold each of the twins for a few hours, nursing them from a bottle because apparently it was important for him specifically to bond with them, even if his breasts didn’t function. 

 

Abby sat with him for hours on end, sometimes trying to get him to talk and sometimes just keeping him company, apparently determined not to go back on her offer to be around after the babies were born. When normal visiting hours ended and she wasn’t there, it was Andrew, Kevin, or Nicky, who was now listed as family. The Exy season wouldn’t start up again until June, and Nicky had been planning a two week visit to the States anyway, so Aaron supposed they had lots of time on their hands. 

 

He wasn’t sure what day it was when Kevin came in while Aaron was nursing Taylor, Abby holding Morgan in the chair next to him. 

 

“Could I talk to Aaron for a few minutes?” he asked Abby, wringing his hands. 

 

“Of course, dear,” Abby said, getting up and reaching out to hand Morgan over to Kevin. 

 

This seemed to derail Kevin for a few minutes, as he carefully took her and held her like something fragile and breakable. 

 

“They’re so small,” he said, wonder colouring his voice. Just then, Morgan yawned and blinked up at him. Kevin glanced down and suddenly couldn’t take his eyes off her, and Aaron realized that Kevin must be seeing some of his own features looking back up at him for the first time. So far it had mainly been Abby who had visited Aaron when the babies were around.

 

Kevin sat down in the seat Abby had vacated, and after a few minutes Aaron broke the silence. “You wanted to talk to me?”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Kevin started. “I um, I wanted to ask you- that is, I wanted to tell you-” he faltered, and then in one breath blurted, “I bought a house here to use when the Exy season isn't on.” 

 

“What? Why?” Aaron demanded, dumbfounded. “We didn’t talk about that.”

 

“It’s just, everything happened so suddenly, and you were supposed to have someone to help you,” he hedged. “I figured, I’m off for a few months anyway, I can do my off-season training wherever. I thought you could use the support, while you adjust. And I can start paying child support, I know we didn’t talk about it, but you were expecting to have two incomes contributing to the household.” 

 

Aaron was livid. “You should have talked to me first, I don’t need you putting your life on hold to come babysit me. I’m fine, and we had life insurance and plenty saved up besides that so I don’t need your fucking pity money. I don’t- shit.” Taylor had started crying. “Shh, it’s okay, I’m sorry,” he soothed her, glaring up at Kevin. “Go get Abby, she’s way better at this.”

 

Kevin didn’t leave like he wanted, instead taking out his phone and sending a text. When he was done, he set his phone down on the table and met Aaron’s eyes. “I’m talking to you now. I’m not putting my life on hold, I just said I can practice here. And I had been thinking about getting a house nearby anyway, so that I could see the kids when I’m not playing. I was planning to talk to you and K-” he broke off, looking away. “Well, I was going to talk to you about it.”

 

“But you  _ didn’t _ talk to me. You just went ahead and threw your money away on a fucking house. You couldn’t start with an apartment and wait to make the permanent choice until after we had this conversation?” Aaron looked like he was prepared to go on, but there was a light knock on the door before Abby came in. “Thank god, can you calm her down?” he asked, holding Taylor up. 

 

Abby came over and took the baby from Aaron. “I’ll just take her for a walk down the hall,” she said, sensing that she had interrupted a tense conversation. 

 

“It’s not like I’m hurting for money,” Kevin said as soon as the door shut behind her, “I’m a professional athlete, I can afford to buy a house near my children.” 

 

“ _ They were never supposed to be your children, _ ” Aaron all but shouted, only barely holding back because Morgan was still in the room. He hunched in on himself, suddenly looking a lot smaller. “They were supposed to be  _ our _ children, mine and- mi- mine and Katelyn’s.” He took a heaving breath. “And she should have been here, I shouldn’t  _ need _ you to come here and help out, I shouldn’t need Abby to help calm Taylor down because Kate is- Kate was fucking amazing with babies, she was so good at soothing her friend’s kid the time we babysat.” There were tears streaming down his face now, and Kevin had no idea what to do. “Fuck,” Aaron groaned, scrubbing at his eyes. “I wasn’t supposed to have to do this alone.” 

 

“You don’t have to,” Kevin said earnestly. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you, I know it’s hard and no one could possibly replace Katelyn. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have any help. Just let me stick around for the next few months at least, you can’t go back to work right away anyway and you’re going to be exhausted with the kids. Will you let me help you?”

 

The fight had drained out of Aaron. “Okay. Just until the season starts up again. And… I guess it makes sense, for you to have a place nearby. For holidays and stuff.”

 

“Do you… do you want me to do anything? Should I get Abby or call Betsy?”

 

“No, it’s okay. Just uh, give me Morgan, and can you go get Taylor from Abby and bring her back? I don’t want anyone else to see me like this,” he admitted. 

 

Kevin handed Morgan over and left without another word, returning a few minutes later with Taylor. “Do you want me to go?” he asked, not sure if he could just leave Aaron with both twins anyway but figuring he should offer. 

 

“No, it’s okay. Tay seems pretty comfortable with you right now, and I was going to feed Morgan soon so you may as well stay and help,” Aaron told him. 

 

There was a mini fridge in the room with baby formula, and a heater that Aaron instructed Kevin to heat the bottle up in. After testing to make sure it wasn’t too hot, he started nursing Morgan. 

 

Aaron found his gaze caught on Kevin and Morgan. For someone who hadn't shown any interest in having his own kids, Kevin looked pretty protective of Morgan now. 

 

*

 

When Aaron was allowed to bring the twins home, Andrew gave them a ride in Aaron’s car. As he got out on shaking feet, anxious and nauseated, Aaron vowed he would never get in a car with his brother behind the wheel again. Andrew’s reckless driving had never bothered him before, not when Aaron knew his twin wouldn’t hurt him, but apparently actually being in a car crash came with a whole slew of new issues. Aaron stumbled a bit as he came around the front of the car, and Andrew caught his arm in an iron grip. 

 

“I'm fine,” Aaron assured him. “The driving was just a bit much.”

 

“Go inside,” Andrew said, pushing him ahead and taking control like he'd rarely done since university. “Kevin and I will bring the children in.”

 

Kevin and Neil had followed in a rental car, and they managed to get Aaron and the twins safely into the house and settled. 

 

Kevin hovered in the doorway of the living room while Andrew and Neil went outside for a cigarette. 

 

“What?” Aaron asked, not patient enough to wait for Kevin to gather his words.

 

“I’m gonna go back to the new house for the weekend, there’s furniture arriving tomorrow and stuff so I need to make sure it all gets set up properly. But Andrew and Neil will be here, and you can call if you need anything. And um, I guess Abby is coming to stay with you even after they leave on Monday, but maybe I could drop by too?” When Aaron didn’t immediately protest, he continued somewhat more eagerly, “I could bring groceries and stuff, so you don’t have to send Abby to run errands for you and end up alone with the twins.” 

 

Aaron quashed the instinctive anger he felt at the implication that he couldn’t take care of his own daughters. He knew Kevin had a point, he could barely even walk around for more than a minute or two, let alone cross the room at a moment’s notice if one of the girls needed something. So he forced the frustration out of his voice and managed an almost neutral tone as he said, “Yeah, that would actually be helpful. I guess I’ll let you know what I need after the weekend.”

 

“Great,” Kevin said, smiling tentatively. “I’ll see you next week, then.”

 

*

 

Andrew and Neil were not the most compassionate of people, but Aaron didn’t want compassion right now anyway. He was back in the home he had shared with Katelyn for the first time since the accident, and he just wanted to be left to wallow in his grief. He figured Andrew could deal with the twins for a couple days, it would be as good as them bonding with Aaron anyway. 

 

He was sleeping on the couch in the living room, allowing Andrew and Neil to use the master bedroom because the guest room had been turned into a nursery and he couldn't stomach the thought of sleeping in his bed without Katelyn anyway. For three days, he felt like he wasn’t alive so much as existing, forcing down the food he was given and getting up only to use the bathroom. When Monday morning came, Andrew’s face appeared in front of his. 

 

“Get up.”

 

Aaron blinked.

 

“You were in a car crash, gave birth, stayed at the hospital for almost a week and then didn’t move from this couch for three days. You need a shower.”

 

Aaron glared.

 

“You have two options. Get up now and let me wash your hair, or keep moping and force Abby to do it when she gets here.”

 

“I can wash my own fucking hair,” Aaron finally said, but he knew that if he didn’t shower now, Andrew really would tell on him to Abby.

 

He locked Andrew out of the bathroom, suddenly filled with spiteful determination to do this one thing on his own. He managed to strip down and turned the water up until he thought it might burn him. He hadn’t realized how cold he had been. 

 

Mechanically, he went through the motions of cleaning himself. As he reached for his razor, he slipped and just caught himself on the shelf in the corner, but the movement sent one of the products there crashing down. The bottle’s cap broke as it hit the ground, and suddenly the scent of Katelyn’s shampoo rushed up at him as it poured down the drain. 

 

“No!” He scrambled for the bottle, really slipping now in the soapy water, but it had been close to empty to begin with, and now it was all gone. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes, and he knew he wasn’t being rational, it was just a fucking bottle of shampoo, but it was a piece of Katelyn, and it was gone, and he couldn’t bring himself to stand back up, so he sat on the floor of the shower and sobbed. 

 

Minutes or hours later, he registered pounding on the door. He thought maybe Andrew was yelling at him. The water had run cold, and he was bleeding from a shallow cut on his hand. He must have nicked it on the razor. 

 

Gathering his strength, he managed to reach up and cut the shower off. He dragged himself onto the mat and pulled the first towel he touched down over himself, unable to care about getting blood on it. Andrew must have heard the shower turn off because he was no longer pounding on the door. 

 

“There are clothes out here for you,” his brother called, and Aaron heard his footsteps walking away. It was another ten minutes before he could muster the energy to cross to the door and retrieve the clean clothes, but he finally finished getting dressed, and even managed to put a bandaid on his cut. 

 

“Next time just accept the damn help,” Andrew growled when he walked back into the living room. 

 

Neil looked up from his phone as Andrew walked by him. “Abby’s on the way over, we have to leave for our flight in half an hour.” 

 

Aaron sat down and looked at his phone for something to do, but the number of unanswered texts was too overwhelming to deal with this second. He let himself zone out again after that, needing the last few minutes of numbness before he was forced to live in his emotions again. 

 

*

 

When Abby arrived, it was with several bags of groceries and a famous striker in tow. “Kevin mentioned that he was planning to bring over some groceries this afternoon, so I figured we would just go now and save him the extra trip.”

 

“How would it be an extra trip? He’s here now anyway,” Neil pointed out.

 

“He was going to give me a ride over from his house either way, so doing groceries at the same time saved him from the trip this afternoon,” Abby explained. 

 

Aaron supposed it made sense that she would stay at Kevin’s house instead of a hotel, now that it was an option. He wondered if this meant he could expect more Fox visits in the future, now that they had a free place to stay without imposing on anyone, since Kevin wouldn’t even be using the house for half the year. 

 

While he pondered that, Abby and Kevin had moved into the kitchen and began putting away the food. Aaron trailed in after them, curious to see what they had picked up, since he had only told Kevin that he needed milk and eggs. As it turned out, one bag was entirely baby formula. The others contained bread, fruit, vegetables, some frozen dinners, and more. It was a good thing Abby would be staying with him for another week, because otherwise this food would definitely go to waste. 

 

By the time the food was put away, Andrew and Neil were getting ready to head out. Aaron hesitated, and then managed a terse “Thanks.”

 

Andrew nodded in acknowledgement. 

 

Everyone said their goodbyes, and then it was just the three of them. There was no time for the silence to get awkward, because one of the twins woke up at the sound of the door closing (despite sleeping soundly through Kevin and Abby’s entrance), and her cries woke the other one. 

 

“Shit, I don’t know when Andrew last fed them or changed their diapers,” Aaron admitted, heading for the nursery. It turned out that both girls needed their diapers changed, and Aaron took a small amount of satisfaction from insisting that Kevin change one of them because he needed to learn these skills if he wanted to be a part of their lives. 

 

 

They had lunch all together, and then Abby and Aaron nursed the girls while they sat in the living room and talked. Well, Abby and Kevin talked, mostly about the current Foxes and how their season was going, and Aaron let the conversation flow over him, but didn’t allow himself to drift too far into his own head. When Morgan stopped suckling and blinked sleepily up at him, Aaron took the out and stood up to walk around with her, gently bouncing her to soothe her to sleep. 

 

Once the babies were back in their crib Kevin decided to head out, claiming he had training to do. Aaron saw him to the door, and just after it shut Abby called out softly to him.

 

“Aaron,” she began, waiting for him to walk back into the room. “I think you should call Betsy. It’s important that you talk to someone about your grief.” 

 

Aaron sighed, but he knew she was right, and he knew that Betsy could help him a lot better than a new therapist he might find here. Still, that didn’t stop him from putting it off a little longer. “She’s probably with patients right now, I’ll wait until it’s after hours at least. Just for today, I don’t want to interrupt anything but I’ll start actually scheduling phone sessions with her after this one.”

 

He knew Abby could see right through him, but she let him have the few hours anyway. She put a movie on with the volume turned down, and before Aaron knew it he was falling asleep on the couch, drained from actually interacting with people so much that morning. 

 

*

 

Kevin came over several more times during Abby’s week-long visit, to bring groceries and help with the twins. Aaron managed to catch up on his texts and set up weekly paid phone sessions with Bee. She had offered to do them for free, but he insisted that he could afford this. It was during the first of these Wednesday sessions that he grudgingly admitted that Kevin was a quick study, picking up on what the twins needed almost better than Aaron. 

 

“I’m their father, he’s just the sperm donor, so why is he better with them than me?”

 

“You know it’s not fair to call Kevin ‘just the sperm donor’, but I’m going to move past that for now,” Bee replied. “You’re grieving and exhausted, you spend every hour of the day looking after the twins while Kevin only sees them for a few hours at a time. It’s only natural that during those few hours, he has more energy and focus than you.”

 

“I guess,” he allowed, “but it still feels shitty.” 

 

“Maybe you should invite Kevin to stay with you for a few days,” Bee suggested in a wry tone, “and see how he fairs with the twins for more than a few hours.” 

 

“I don’t need his help,” Aaron grumbled. 

 

“There’s nothing wrong with accepting help even if you don’t strictly  _ need _ it,” Bee reminded him, but she didn’t push further. “Now, let’s talk about how you’ve been bonding with Morgan and Taylor.” 


	5. Chapter 5

Abby only had two weeks of vacation time, so she packed up on Sunday and Aaron got ready to say goodbye to her. They had gone grocery shopping together the day before with the twins in a stroller, in part to prove that Aaron could manage a trip out of the house. Kevin would be nearby anyway if Aaron needed anything, but he wanted to stop relying on help and start fending for himself again. 

 

As if summoned by his thoughts, Kevin arrived to drive Abby to the airport. Abby fussed a bit over the twins in their cribs, kissing them each on the head before she came over to Aaron. “You know I’m only a phone call away, if you need anything at all,” she said, pulling Aaron into her arms. Aaron had years of practice now with not flinching when older women hugged him, and Abby was probably the woman he trusted most in the world aside from- he stopped that train of thought before it could go any further. “You’ll send us pictures and updates about the twins, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Aaron assured her, “I’ll keep in touch.” 

 

“Take care of yourself,” Abby said, moving towards the door.

 

Aaron looked away before the tears that he suddenly felt pricking his eyes could fall. 

 

“I’ll see you around,” Kevin said, taking Abby’s suitcase for her and opening the door. 

 

“Bye,” Aaron said gruffly. 

 

Alone with his daughters for the first time since they were born, Aaron found himself at a loss for what to do. They were sleeping for now, and he knew that he should take the time to rest while he could, but it was the middle of the day and he was wide awake. He managed to spend a few minutes responding to a text from Sam about how he and the twins were doing, but then he was back to his boredom. In the end he decided to read while it was quiet, digging out the novel that he had picked up when his pregnancy had gotten to the point where he had to stop working. 

 

The peace couldn’t last forever, and Aaron didn’t even read for an hour before Taylor woke up and needed to be changed and fed. The bottle heater dinged, which brought her sister wailing out of her slumber, and Aaron wondered if he would ever get used to juggling the two of them. He grabbed Taylor’s bottle and started nursing her, throwing another one in the heater. Morgan hadn’t stopped crying. When Taylor was finally done he set her back in the crib and found that Morgan had been sitting in a soiled diaper. Aaron looked up from changing Morgan just in time to watch his other daughter spit up in her crib; apparently he had forgotten to burp her. Leaving Morgan on the changing table for a minute, he ran for a cloth to clean up Taylor and moved her to the playpen for now. 

 

She seemed content with that, so Aaron finished with changing Morgan and went to grab her bottle. He had taken too long though and it was barely warm, so he had to put it back in. When he tested it this time it was a little on the hot side, and Morgan was still screaming impatiently. Aaron put the bottle in the fridge and carried Morgan out of the room, hoping that at least Taylor would be able to go back to sleep if he took the noise away. He bounced Morgan and made cooing noises at her, but nothing would stop her cries. Finally, he decided it must have been long enough and checked the bottle again, and found it had cooled to an acceptable temperature. As soon as he gave her the bottle Morgan fell silent, and Aaron could have cried with relief. 

 

When she was done, Aaron made sure to burp the baby, and then realized he had to do something about the wet spot in the crib before he could set her in there. Morgan was already drifting off in his arms though, so Aaron just sat down on the couch with her for now, figuring he could read a bit more while she was asleep. He had been wide awake just an hour ago, but now he felt his eyelids drooping almost as soon as he opened his book. When his head dipped the first time and he realized he was still holding Morgan, he forced himself to stand up and walk around. The crib seemed reasonably dry, and since Morgan was already asleep he figured he could just set her on the side furthest from the wet spot. As gently as he could, he set her down without waking her. When he lay back down on the couch, he was asleep before his head hit the pillow. 

 

*

 

Aaron wasn't sleeping well. On top of the twins waking him up periodically throughout the night, he had been having nightmares since the accident. Every night he woke up with his heart pounding, jolting from an imagined impact. More than once he almost fell off the couch as he got his bearings. He still hadn't gone back to sleeping in his own bed; he had tried one night after Abby’s visit and had only succeeded in giving himself a breakdown. 

 

Tonight's nightmare started like the others, in the car with Katelyn driving back from the charity Exy game. In reality he had been asleep when they were hit, but in his dreams he was always wide awake, able to watch but helpless to save his wife. 

 

He heard a baby crying, another voice quickly joining the first. He glanced into the backseat and saw the twins in car seats, and suddenly knew what was about to come. 

 

“Kate, look out!” he tried to warn her, but no sound came out. 

 

A moment later, the oncoming car struck them and Aaron startled awake. He could still hear the babies crying, and he was struck with blind panic, stumbling into the nursery to protect his daughters. When he reached their crib he found that they didn't appear to be in any danger, and he took a moment to assure himself,  _ it was just a dream _ . 

 

He made sure his hands had stopped shaking before he reached in to pick up Taylor, bouncing her gently as he walked over to the changing table. He brought Morgan over as well and checked both their diapers, but they were clean and still screaming. 

 

Next he heated up bottles for them both. Taylor took hers, but Morgan point blank refused. When she finished nursing and her sister was still wailing, Taylor joined her again in seconds. 

 

Aaron was at a loss. He pulled out his phone to Google “babies won't stop crying", which of course gave him about ten different ways his children might be dying. Aaron checked them both over for injuries or fever, put them in clean pajamas, even tried to sing a fucking lullaby, but nothing would calm them. 

 

“Please stop crying,” he begged. The problem was, he could only hold one baby at a time and since the one left in the crib wouldn't calm down, he couldn't even soothe the one in his arms. 

 

_ Katelyn would know what to do.  _

 

The thought came to him unbidden. All of the sudden his vision was blurry, as tears streamed down his face and he was powerless to stop them. He swore Morgan's wailing got louder, as if she sensed his distress. He needed help. 

 

He pulled up his contacts, instinct sending him first to Betsy’s number, but he didn't dial. She might be able to talk Aaron down under normal circumstances, but no amount of therapy would calm the twins. He needed someone here, someone who could come hold one of the twins or do  _ something _ . 

 

He scrolled down and clicked Kevin's number before he could talk himself out of it. 

 

“Hello?” Kevin answered, voice a bit rough from sleep.

 

Aaron had to clear his throat before he could speak. “Hey, it's Aaron-”

 

Before he could continue, Kevin cut him off. “What's wrong? Are the twins okay?”

 

“I can't find anything wrong with them but they won't stop crying and I don't know what to do and every time I pick one of them up the other cries louder and I- I-" he sucked in a deep breath. “I need help.”

 

“I'll be right over,” Kevin told him. “Do you want me to stay on the phone?” 

 

“No, it's fine.”

 

They hung up, and Kevin must have been nearby because he was knocking on the door within five minutes. Aaron let him in and handed Morgan over as soon as Kevin's coat was off, leaving them in the living room as he went back to the nursery for Taylor.  

 

Aaron stayed in the other room with Taylor, in part so that the twins would stop setting each other off and in part because he wasn't ready to actually have a conversation with Kevin when the tears were still drying on his face. He hummed quietly to her, and he wasn't sure if giving her space from her sister worked or if she had just finally tired herself out, but either way she was asleep in a few minutes. 

 

He listened for Morgan, but could only barely make out Kevin's low voice down the hall. Still, he waited in the nursery for a few more minutes with Taylor to make sure both twins were sound asleep before he reunited them. 

 

When he walked back into the living room, Kevin's back was to the door. He was singing quietly in French, bouncing Morgan gently as he walked around the room. He turned and spotted Aaron in the doorway, startling a bit and quickly glancing down to make sure Morgan was still asleep. 

 

“What were you singing?” Aaron asked. He thought Kevin had learned French from Jean, but the song sounded like a lullaby of some sort. 

 

Kevin was quiet for so long that Aaron didn't think he was going to answer. When he spoke, it was in a faraway voice. “It was a song Jean remembered his mother singing to him. I used to sing it when I was stitching him back together, to keep him grounded and distract him.”

 

Aaron felt as though he was intruding, like he should have just waited in the other room. But Kevin didn't have to sing in the first place, or answer his question. Aaron couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't be trivial in the face of Kevin's confession, so he changed the subject. 

 

“Thanks for coming over, I thought I was going to lose my mind. You can stay the night if you don't want to drive home, I'm not using the bedroom right now.”

 

Kevin looked up from where his gaze had wandered to the bedding on the couch. “That can't be good for your back, didn't you say you have whiplash from the accident?”

 

Aaron pretended not to hear him, not willing to get into his issues at 3am when they had only just gotten the twins to go back to sleep. “We should probably put them down and get some rest while we can, you never know how long the quiet will last.”

 

Kevin sighed but let it pass, following Aaron to the nursery to gently put the twins back in their crib. 

 

“You’re in there,” Aaron said on his way back to the living room, pointing to the closed bedroom door. “Good night.” 

 

“Good night,” Kevin responded, taking the dismissal for what it was and letting himself into the bedroom.

 

Aaron lay down on the couch and was so tired from the events of the night that he slept without dreaming. 

 

*

 

The bright sun coming through the window woke Aaron up several hours later. He wondered how he had slept so long, given that the twins usually didn’t allow him more than two hours at a time. He went to check on them and found their cribs empty, causing a moment of panic before he heard Kevin’s voice coming from the bedroom. 

 

He wasn’t proud of how long it took him to work up the nerve to open the door. When he finally did, he saw that Kevin had dragged the comforter down to the ground so the babies could crawl around on it. 

 

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

 

“I heard them wake up and figured you could use the rest, and I could use the practice with changing diapers and entertaining them,” Kevin told him. “Why don’t you stay with them, and I’ll make some breakfast?”

 

Aaron looked away. “Can we bring them out to the living room? All their toys are out there anyway.” 

 

“Sure,” Kevin said, distracted. They each picked up a twin and Kevin leaned down to scoop up the blanket they’d been playing on, depositing it and Taylor in the living room with Aaron. 

 

The smell of whatever Kevin was cooking left Aaron's mouth watering. He hadn't exactly been feeding himself as well as he could have been, so the home cooked scrambled eggs and bacon that Kevin carried out were enough to improve the day. It even looked like Kevin had found the last good piece of fruit in the fridge, an apple that he had sliced up on the side. Aaron made an appreciative noise as he scarfed down a few bites. 

 

Meanwhile, Kevin picked at his food and seemed to war with himself for a minute before he spoke up. “I think you should come stay at my place with the twins for a few days.” 

 

“No,” Aaron protested, “I’m fine here.”    
  


“You’re killing yourself trying to keep up with them on your own here,” Kevin refuted, “you’re clearly not getting enough sleep and the sleep you do get can’t be all that restful. I told you, I’ve got a house nearby to try and support you, so let me.”

 

“I’m not moving in with you just because I’ve had a few rough days,” Aaron said, but it felt weak even to his ears. He knew that he was going through more than just “a few rough days”. 

 

“I’m not asking you to move in with me,” Kevin countered, “I’m just asking you to give yourself a break. Take a few days to let me help out with the girls for more than an hour at a time, to actually catch up on sleep in a real bed, and then you can come back home when you’re rested.”

 

Having some help and a real bed for a few days didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world. And being at Kevin’s house would mean he wouldn’t have to deal with scenes like this morning, finding Kevin in his and Katelyn’s bedroom playing with their daughters like it was his space. 

 

“Just for a few days,” Aaron stressed. “What are we going to do about all the baby stuff? We’ll have to move the crib and the changing table and some of their toys, and pack up some clothes…” 

 

Aaron was gearing himself up to go on, but Kevin jumped in. “They have the playpen, right? They can just sleep in that, it’ll be easier than taking apart the crib. And we can just bring the cushion from on top of the changing table, and change them on the floor or the counter for a few days.” When he saw that Aaron wasn’t going to object any further, Kevin continued. “You can pack up some stuff for the twins while I do the dishes, and then we can head over.” 

 

*

 

Aaron was just closing a duffel bag packed with plenty of diapers and wipes for the twins when Kevin poked his head in. 

 

“Can I get your keys so I can move the car seats over to my car?”

 

“Yeah, they should be on the kitchen counter,” Aaron told him distractedly. 

 

He hadn’t thought this far ahead, and now he felt his anxiety building as he remembered how nerve-wracking the ride home from the hospital had been. There was nothing for it though, he couldn’t just stop travelling in vehicles for the rest of his life, so the sooner he got over it, the better. At least, that was what he told himself as he piled everything they needed to bring by the door. 

 

Kevin came back a few minutes later, and he and Aaron each carried one of the girls out to the car, strapping them in carefully before going back for the bags. Aaron got into the passenger seat and steeled himself as Kevin started the engine. 

 

It turned out Aaron’s worries had been mostly unfounded, because Kevin was a much more reasonable driver than Andrew. Aaron still found himself getting a bit queasy whenever a car passed them too closely, but he wasn’t scrambling to get out of the car when they pulled into a driveway a short five minutes later. 

 

Aaron looked up at the house and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was no mansion, but it wasn’t exactly modest either. They were parked in a driveway that could probably fit four cars without anyone being blocked in, next to a huge front yard with a few trees and a neatly-tended flower bed in it. The house itself was two stories, and there was a big window in the front room. 

 

Aaron and Kevin each carried a twin and a bag up to the house, and Aaron sat down in the living room with the girls while Kevin went back out for the playpen. When he got back, Kevin paused in the doorway. 

 

“There are three bedrooms upstairs, so it’s up to you if you want the girls in with you or in their own room. It would be right next door to yours, so you’d still be able to hear them wake up,” Kevin said, holding up the playpen. “Just let me know which you prefer so I know where to put this.”

 

“I guess you may as well put them in their own room,” Aaron decided. 

 

“Okay, I’ll just set the playpen up and then I can come down and give you the grand tour.”

 

The main floor was comprised of an open concept front hall containing a grand staircase, the study, dining room, guest room with its own bathroom, living room, and kitchen. There was a sunroom at the back of the house, which might have cut into a normal-sized yard, but Kevin’s backyard was twice as deep as Aaron’s. Upstairs there were three bedrooms like Kevin had said; the master bedroom had its own ensuite and there was a bathroom for the other rooms to share. There was also a loft area with a banister looking down across from the stairs. 

 

“If you want we can put the girls’ toys in the loft and make it sort of a play area. It’s not like I’m going to be entertaining guests up there, anyway,” Kevin volunteered, looking up to see Aaron’s reaction. 

 

“It’s your house man, do what you want with it,” Aaron told him. He couldn’t decide how he felt about Kevin making space in his life for the twins, but he knew he needed to get used to it. 

 

The day passed fairly uneventfully after that, and Aaron had to admit that it really helped to have an extra set of hands again. Even better, when he went to bed it was on a real mattress that he didn’t fall off of when he inevitably woke up from a nightmare that night. 

 

Breathing heavily, he decided to get up and check on the girls to give himself something to do until his heart rate settled back down. He went next door only to stop short as he saw Kevin bouncing one of the girls and singing in a language that definitely wasn’t French. Aaron went back to his room as quietly as he could, not prepared to face Kevin so soon after another nightmare. 

 

Lying on his bed again, he thought he could just make out the notes of Kevin’s song, and apparently that was soothing enough to calm his pulse because he was soon drifting to sleep again. 


	6. Chapter 6

Almost a week later, Aaron finally insisted upon going home. 

 

“Are you sure?” Kevin asked, for the third time. “You can stay longer if it would help, I really don’t mind.”

 

“I’m sure,” Aaron affirmed, zipping up a much lighter diaper bag than the one he arrived with. “You’ve been really helpful, and it’s been nice to catch up on some sleep, but I can’t just rely on you for the rest of my life. I’m gonna have to learn how to be a single parent eventually, and I can’t do that with you there to step in any time things get a tiny bit hard.” 

 

Kevin was ready to protest, but Aaron pressed on, now carrying the bags down to the front door. “Besides, you need to go back to work. You can’t tell me it’s not killing you that you’ve already missed a week of spring training to babysit me. And there’s no way you can have enough energy to keep up with Exy when you’re spending all day with the twins.”

 

Kevin couldn’t argue with that, so he settled on, “You’ll call if you need anything?”

 

“Yeah, sure. I should be okay though, the doctor cleared me to drive so I can finally get groceries by myself. And you’re still okay to come watch the twins when I have physio on Thursday, right?” 

 

“Yeah, of course.”

 

Kevin gave Aaron and the twins a ride home, and after transferring the car seats back to Aaron’s car, there was nothing left to do but go home himself. Aaron was right, he really did need to get on top of his spring training… tomorrow. 

 

For tonight, he decided to treat himself to a long bath and going to bed early. Much as he had tried not to let it show, helping with the twins all the time had left Kevin in need of a break, which was why he was so worried about Aaron pushing himself to do it all on his own. Still, there wasn’t much he could do besides be nearby and willing to drop everything if he was needed. With that in mind, Kevin messed around with the settings on his phone as he got ready for bed until he was confident that calls from Aaron and Betsy would come through at full volume even when his other notifications were on silent. Once that was done, he lay down and slept more deeply than he had in months. 

 

*

 

Aaron was exhausted. He had dealt with being overworked before, often running on little sleep during his residency before he got a good enough job to have more regular hours, but this was nothing like that. His nights were plagued with nightmares, and between that and the twins waking up he barely caught more than an hour or two of real sleep. He had returned home just three days ago, and already he felt like he needed another break. But he had managed to get through these three days without breaking down, and he was determined to move forward and stop relying on others. That was what he told himself as he went to bed just after 8pm.

 

When Aaron woke up two hours later, he still felt like he was in his nightmare. It took at least a minute for him to calm down enough to realize that the sound of babies crying was coming from the nursery, and not just an after effect of his dream. He moved on autopilot to the other room, picking up Morgan to check her diaper before he headed to the kitchen to heat up bottles for both of them. 

 

Once the first bottle was poured and in the heater, he bounced Morgan and hummed to her, walking back to the nursery to check on Taylor. Morgan was settling down a bit so he set her back down and picked up her twin, checking her diaper as well. The heater dinged, and he went to take it out, pouring a second one. He has just screwed the lid on when he heard Morgan start wailing again in the nursery, so he set it down and went back to switch the twins again. 

 

When he got back to the kitchen he threw the second bottle in the heater, picking up the first to give to Morgan. It was only when she sucked on it and immediately screwed up her face and resumed wailing that he realized it was cold, and he must have put the first bottle in the heater twice. He hit the stop button and grabbed the bottle, yanking his burned hand back too late as his mind slowly connected that being in for almost two full cycles meant the bottle was overheated. Morgan was still crying in his arms, and Taylor had joined her again from the other room. Aaron was mildly alarmed by how little their howling phased him at this point. He had tuned it out again, and had to remind himself that crying children needed to be pacified. 

 

Pacifiers. The thought came to him suddenly and he scrambled to remember where the girls’ soothers were. He checked the dish drainer, the counters, the windowsill over the sink, the playpen, and had even set Morgan down so he could dig through the couch cushions before he remembered that they always took soothers to sleep and must have spat them out in the crib in order to start crying in the first place. Which meant they probably wouldn’t take them back to calm down. So, back to the bottles. 

 

While new bottles were heating up (Aaron made sure to put two different ones in this time), he changed both girls’ diapers even though they hadn’t seemed to need it. By the time he finally had the twins calmed down, he glanced at the clock and was startled to realize that what he had thought of as ten minutes had actually been forty. It shouldn’t take him forty minutes to put the girls back to sleep in the night, if he hadn’t been so scatterbrained it would have gone smoothly. Aaron lay back down on the couch, remembering the few full nights of sleep he had gotten at Kevin’s house. He had even made it through one or two of them without nightmares. Maybe sleeping on a real bed again wouldn’t be such a bad thing, he thought as he began to drift back to sleep. 

 

He woke up a few hours later to the sound of Taylor crying again, and couldn’t reliably say how long she might have been crying before he woke up. That was concerning. Still, he managed to change her diaper and get her settled back down pretty quickly this time, and he decided to try sleeping in the bed again now. It was dark when he entered the bedroom, and he chose to keep it that way, stumbling into bed on muscle memory alone rather than face the room just yet. He fell asleep almost instantly, the familiar bed and his exhaustion pulling him under. 

 

*

 

It was a mistake. 

 

When Aaron woke in the morning, for a minute he thought nothing was wrong. The other side of the bed was cold. Katelyn normally gave him a kiss when she left early for work, he must have been pretty tired last night if she hadn’t woken him up. He would just rest for a few more minutes, before he got up to get ready for his own shift. 

 

A cry pierced the silence and reality came rushing back in. Katelyn was dead. The weight of that truth settled on him in a way it hadn’t before. He wasn’t suffocating under it though, he just felt numb. It couldn’t hurt him because there was nothing left to hurt. He needed to get up and deal with the twins. He forced himself out of bed and went through the motions of changing the girls’ diapers, getting them dressed for the day, and giving them bottles. 

 

Once they were entertaining each other in their playpen, Aaron turned on the television with the volume turned down and proceeded to not absorb anything he saw for the next hour. His phone buzzed with a text from Bee, and he realized that it was Wednesday morning and he was supposed to have called her ten minutes ago. 

 

Sorry, he replied to the text, calling now. 

 

He dialed the number for her office and held the phone to his ear as it rung. Bee picked up quickly, and he imagined she must have been willing to wait the whole hour for him to call if she didn’t hear otherwise from him. 

 

Aaron had done enough work with Bee in university to be well past the point of beating around the bush with her, so he just came out with it as soon as she picked up. “I think I have an alarming lack of concern for my children’s wellbeing.” 

 

To her credit, Bee didn’t make any mention of the unusual greeting, picking up the topic as if it was a conversation they had started earlier. “What makes you think that?”

 

Aaron recounted the previous night and that morning, how numb he felt and how hard it was to make himself actually pay attention to the twins’ needs. When he finished, Bee was quiet for a moment as she always was, to make sure her patients were actually done speaking. 

 

“I don’t think you lack concern for the girls, Aaron. I think you’re overtired. You’re pushing yourself too hard, barely sleeping, and at some point your brain stops being able to process everything at once and remain functional.” 

 

“I thought I was overtired too, that’s why I slept in the bed last night, but I probably got five or six hours of sleep overall and I’m still like this today.” 

 

“One night of slightly more sleep on a real bed is not going to fix this,” Bee told him gently. “Especially when that night is followed by waking up in a fantasy world and being shocked back into reality.” 

 

“You think I should go back to stay with Kevin again, don’t you?” Aaron asked. He couldn’t say the thought hadn’t crossed his own mind. 

 

“I think the fact that I didn’t even have to say it means that you’re considering it, too,” Bee said wryly. “Kevin is back to training now anyway, right? You could still feel independent and do most of the work with the twins while he’s out during the day, but in an environment where you can sleep in a bed and you’re not constantly seeing reminders of the loss you’re still processing.” 

 

“I can’t just take a break at Kevin’s house every time I have a rough couple days,” Aaron protested. 

 

“That’s not what I would suggest,” Bee told him. “I think you need a long-term change of environment, to give yourself time to heal.”

 

“I can’t move out, there’s so much of-” Aaron broke off, took a ragged breath, and tried again. “There’s so much of her left in this house, I can’t leave it behind.” 

 

Betsy gave him a few moments to calm down before she spoke again. “I wouldn’t expect you to be ready to leave your home behind, and I apologize if my phrasing implied that. What I meant to suggest was that you ask if you could stay with Kevin for a few months. In that time we can continue our weekly sessions and hopefully you will be able to process some of your grief and get to a point where you are ready to come back to your home.”

 

Aaron mulled that over for a minute, and couldn’t find a problem besides that he would be freeloading off of Kevin. He supposed he could talk to Kevin about paying some sort of rent for a few months. First he had to make sure Kevin was okay with them coming back… 

 

He realized he had been quiet too long, while Bee was waiting for him to respond. “I guess that could be okay,” he told her. 

 

With that resolved, Bee moved on to other topics, and they spent the rest of the hour unpacking some of Aaron’s recent nightmares. 

 

*

 

Kevin had no problem with Aaron and the girls staying with him for a while, and even offered to take the rest of the day off from training to help move things over. Aaron had packed for more than a few days this time, so they were moving the crib as well as several bags of toys and clothes. 

 

“To be honest, I was going a little crazy in that big house all by myself,” Kevin admitted as they loaded up Aaron’s car. “Back in Dallas I just have an apartment, and Andrew and Neil live next door.”

 

“I still don’t understand why you had to go for a house here, especially if you only have an apartment there,” Aaron complained. 

 

“Well, I wanted to get somewhere pretty close to you in case you needed anything, and you don’t really live in a neighbourhood that has apartments,” Kevin said, closing the trunk on the last bag. “I thought about just offering to stay with you for a few months to help out, but I wanted to give you some space.”

 

Not that it mattered, Aaron thought to himself. Still, as much as he complained, he was grateful that Kevin’s place was so close. Kevin's driving might not be nauseating like Andrew's, but being in a car had Aaron tensing up nonetheless. He was looking forward to finding out what parks and grocery stores were within reasonable walking distance. 

 

Aaron was happy to let Kevin do most of the heavy lifting when it came to carrying the crib into the house and up the stairs. He figured he had interrupted Kevin's training anyway, so Kevin could probably use the workout. While he was doing that Aaron managed to get the girls inside, just setting Taylor's car seat down next to Morgan's in the front hall as Kevin came down the stairs. 

 

“The crib isn't assembled yet,” Kevin began apologetically, as if Aaron would have expected him to set it up in the two minutes he'd been upstairs. “I didn't want to fuck something up so I figured I should wait for you.”

 

“It’s fine, man,” Aaron assured him. “Let’s get it set up first though, so I can put the girls down and then get everything else unpacked.”

 

They each carried one of the car seats up to the room that had been designated as the nursery, opting to leave the twins in the seats where they couldn’t get into trouble while Aaron and Kevin put the crib together. Aaron was privately amused that Kevin had been worried about setting it up himself, because he remembered it being pretty easy the first time around. He sat down and started pulling pieces out of the box at random until they were all spread out on the floor. Grabbing the instructions, Aaron cast about for the screwdrivers he’d thrown into the box and noticed them near Kevin’s feet. 

 

“Can you pass me that Phillips screwdriver?” he asked, pointing. “No, the Phillips. Not that one. Not-” Aaron broke off, laughing. “You’re lucky you make so much money playing Exy,” he teased. “The Phillips head looks like an X.” 

 

“Why wouldn’t they just call it an X screwdriver, then?” Kevin grumbled, finally handing him the right one. 

 

Despite Kevin’s apparent lack of handiness, they got the crib together pretty quickly. It wasn’t until Kevin left him alone to finish unpacking that Aaron realized it was the lightest he’d felt in weeks. 


	7. Chapter 7

Aaron and Kevin had lived together for years during university, but Aaron still wasn’t sure what to expect. Back then they had managed to not just tolerate each other but get along, drinking and sometimes dancing together at Eden’s, running errands or studying in pairs when Andrew was too paranoid to let them wander off on their own. Kevin might have been an asshole when it came to Exy, but Aaron was just as passionate about working towards his medical career, so they understood each other.

 

They had both grown since then. Aaron wasn’t starved for companionship anymore, desperate to talk to someone other than his family. Kevin wasn’t an anxious mess, clinging to Andrew’s group like a safety blanket. Aaron wondered if they would get along so well when they weren’t both in a shitty situation, just looking for someone to talk to. 

 

The first morning, Aaron woke up to the sound of the front door slamming immediately followed by the babies wailing. He unplugged his phone and trudged over to their room, texting Kevin as he went. 

 

_ (6:02 a.m.) pls dont slam the door on your way out next time _

 

Aaron took a bottle of formula out of the minifridge in the loft and put it in the warmer while he went to pick up Morgan. He was starting to learn the little differences between the twins, and Morgan was usually quick to calm down in Aaron’s arms. Taylor would scream until she had her bottle no matter what Aaron did, so there was little point in picking her up until it was ready. When the first bottle was ready, he took it out and put a second one in, and then went and switched babies. 

 

Morgan had settled down a bit, and was happy to wait in the crib while Aaron fed Taylor first now that her sister wasn’t screaming. Aaron made it through feeding and burping both girls, and watched in amazement as they immediately settle back to sleep. Not willing to miss a chance at a couple more hours of sleep himself, Aaron went back to his room, noticing a text from Kevin. 

 

_ (6:13 a.m.) Shit! Sorry, I’ll try to be quieter from now on. _

 

With that dealt with, Aaron lay back down and closed his eyes, managing another 46 minutes of sleep before the girls woke him up again.

 

*

 

Later that day, Kevin texted Aaron as he changed out to head home from the court. 

 

_ (4:37 p.m.) I’m bringing home takeout as an apology for the early wake up, what do you want? _

 

A few minutes later, his phone buzzed with Aaron’s response.

 

_ (4:41 p.m.) u dont have to do that man _

 

Before Kevin could insist, another text came in.

 

_ (4:42 p.m.) but i wouldnt say no to lonestar _

 

Kevin laughed to himself, thinking about how easily Minyard siblings were bought by food. Aaron wasn’t nearly as bad as Andrew and actually had a fairly healthy diet, but he could be won over with free meals nonetheless. 

 

He picked up the food and made it home pretty quickly, setting it on the counter before changing his mind and bringing it up to the loft. Aaron was reading on the couch while the twins both lay on the floor, gurgling at each other. Aaron sat up when he saw Kevin, moving over to make room for him. Kevin unpacked the food and they went through some menial small talk as they put together their fajitas, before settling into the comfortable silence that comes with good food. 

 

As he was making his third fajita, Kevin’s eyes landed on the book Aaron had set down.  _ The Baby Book _ , the cover read.

 

“Is it helpful?” he asked, gesturing. 

 

“Hm?” Aaron glanced down. “Oh, yeah. I, uh, didn’t necessarily prepare as much as I could have before and during the pregnancy. Kate read everything she could get her hands on, so I kind of figured she would tell me what to do.”

 

This was the first time Kevin had heard Aaron mention Katelyn casually, and he didn’t want to ruin it by bringing it up. “So what kinds of stuff does that book teach you?” he asked instead.

 

“Well today I was looking at stages of development,” Aaron began, launching into an explanation about how the girls couldn’t be expected to do much more than learn to lift their heads and move their arms in the first few months. As he talked, he relaxed almost imperceptibly, and Kevin realized that he perhaps hadn’t been so okay with talking about Katelyn after all. Maybe it had been a test for Kevin, to see if he would push too far, or for himself, to see if he could handle it. 

 

He tuned in again in time to catch Aaron talking about how the girls probably wouldn’t be crawling until August, and maybe later since they were premature. “I guess we’ll have to get a gate for the stairs then,” Kevin mused, and Aaron looked up sharply. 

 

“Well,” he started hesitantly, “the twins and I won’t be living here by then. Your season starts up again in May, right?”

 

“Oh, right,” Kevin agreed, coming back to himself. It had barely been a day but already he was getting caught up in the idea of helping raise his children. He needed to remember that they weren’t really his, that Aaron was their father and Kevin was just the sperm donor, nothing more. He had been quiet too long and now Aaron was looking at him.

 

“You okay?” he asked. “You spaced a bit for a minute there.”

 

“Yeah, sorry man. Just tired,” Kevin lied. “I think I’m gonna go watch some TV, let me know if you need anything, okay?”

 

“Sure,” Aaron told him, helping Kevin gather up the garbage from the meal. 

 

Kevin went downstairs and turned the TV on to the sports channel where an NCAA Exy death match was on, but he barely absorbed anything from the game. 

 

*

 

Now that he was getting somewhat more restful sleep and not crashing every time the girls went down, Aaron found he had some time on his hands. He had gotten through a couple parenting books in the first few days, but after a while it felt like reading the same information over and over again. So he made a bad decision and got back on facebook. 

 

The first time he logged in had been difficult. There were over 50 messages and notifications, a mix of people expressing condolences and congratulations. Rather than respond to them all individually, Aaron had made a post thanking everyone and then did himself a favour and hit the “Mark All as Read” button. With that done, he could move on to spending hours mindlessly scrolling through his news feed, occasionally liking a post or commenting on a picture. 

 

On this particular day, the girls were down for an afternoon nap and Aaron was just slightly too awake to do the same. He opened up facebook as he had been doing the past few days, but today something was different. As his news feed loaded, there was a video at the top.

 

“Celebrate your anniversary with Facebook! We made you a video to look back on your memories with Katelyn.”

 

Before he realized it, Aaron’s fingers were moving to click play. Facebook must have pulled from their most-liked posts together, because all the major milestones were included. Here was their wedding day, here was the day they were both accepted into the same med school, here was the post they had made to announce Aaron’s pregnancy. In between all of these were photos, some of which Aaron didn’t even remember being taken, just moments that one of them had decided to capture. 

 

Aaron could feel his eyes getting wet, but he didn’t realize the tears had started falling until he felt one drip off his chin. He made no move to stop them, or to close the video. When it reached the end, he started it again. He missed Katelyn so much, and he spent so much time not thinking about it, trying to move on, trying to stay present in the moment so that he could take care of his daughters, but now he grieved. 

 

*

 

Kevin walked back to the bench, drinking deeply from his water bottle. He realized he hadn’t looked at his phone in hours, and reached for it now in case Aaron needed anything. He did have a new text message, not from Aaron but from his twin.  

 

_ (8:12 a.m.) Keep an eye on Aaron today. It’s his anniversary.  _

 

Kevin cursed himself for not checking his texts earlier. He abruptly decided that he had done enough training for today. He changed out and drove home in record time, and it turned out to be a good decision. 

 

When Kevin walked in, the house was quiet. Leaving his bag by the door, he made himself walk up the stairs even though he wanted to run. Aaron was sitting on the couch with his laptop perched on his legs, and at first glance Kevin might have thought nothing was wrong. But as he got closer he realized that there were tears streaming down Aaron’s face, and he hadn’t moved or looked up since Kevin walked in. 

 

“Aaron? Are you okay?” Kevin asked. 

 

Aaron didn’t react, and Kevin moved to sit next to him, looking at the screen. A video was playing and Kevin quickly realized what had happened. He reached for the laptop, and when Aaron didn’t stop him, carefully closed it and put it on the table. At first Aaron continued to stare forward and Kevin was at a loss for what to do next. He waited, and finally Aaron looked up at him. 

 

“I miss her so much.” 

 

The words came out forced, and it looked as though it had taken all of Aaron's energy to get them out. As he deflated, Kevin thought of Andrew's unorthodox brand of comfort, the way he would rest a heavy hand on Neil’s or his brother's neck. He thought of how he himself had fallen into Abby’s arms time and again in university. And so, before he could question himself, he reached a hand out and settled it on Aaron’s back. 

 

Aaron crumpled. Before Kevin knew what was happening, the smaller man had curled into his side and clutched his t-shirt with desperate fingers, sobbing in earnest now. 

 

Kevin didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything, just held Aaron and let him grieve. Eventually, Aaron's breathing began to even out as he either calmed down or wore himself out, but still Kevin didn't move. They stayed that way until the twins woke up and cried to be fed, and then they got up together without a word. 

 

*

 

Later that night Kevin was in the kitchen looking through the cupboards when Aaron came down. Aaron moved past Kevin to pull a frozen dinner out of the freezer, and Kevin glanced down at what he'd taken out before speaking. 

 

“You know you can use my groceries if you haven't had time to go to the store,” Kevin told him. “I think the fajitas the other day were the only real meal I've seen you eat here.”

 

“I don't need your food,” Aaron said, a bit defensively. He checked himself and made sure his tone would be neutral before continuing. “I've just been too lazy to bother cooking a full meal just for myself.”

 

Kevin opened his mouth to interject, but Aaron wasn't done. “And besides,” he continued, “I already owe you for the take-out and we haven't even talked about rent, I don't need to start stealing your groceries too.”

 

“We could just share groceries like we did in university,” Kevin offered. “I meant to bring it up anyway, it doesn't make sense to have two jugs of milk and two cartons of eggs and stuff. And like you said, cooking for one person is the worst.”

 

“We didn't exactly buy a lot of groceries in university,” Aaron pointed out, remembering their meal plans and all the take-out they got when they weren't on campus. Still, he could see the logic behind Kevin's argument. And officially sharing groceries would make it easier for him to keep track of how much they were spending and actually pay Kevin pack. He reasoned this out in a matter of seconds and found himself reluctantly agreeing. 

 

Kevin cooked for both of them that night, and surprised Aaron by suggesting they watch a movie together after dinner instead of retreating to his room. Aaron was sure he would be asleep within the first half hour after the day he'd had, but he still sat next to Kevin on the couch and tried to pay attention until he couldn't keep his eyes open. 

 

When the twins woke him up in the middle of the night, Aaron was disoriented at first. He thought for a moment that he was back in his house before his mind caught up and he remembered watching the movie with Kevin earlier. He definitely hadn't fallen asleep lying down though, or with a blanket on. He didn't have time to ponder it; the girls were getting louder and he needed to get to them before Kevin woke up. 

 

By the time he got the girls settled down and crawled into his own bed, Aaron had almost forgotten about the caring gesture from Kevin. But just before he fell asleep it came back to his mind and he couldn't help but smile. 

 

*

 

They fell into a routine. Aaron’s days were his own; while Kevin spent hours at the court Aaron went for walks around the neighbourhood with the girls, or read on the couch while they learned to roll around and lift their heads up. As the days grew warmer he began bringing them out the backyard with a blanket to lie on, enjoying the fresh air. 

 

Kevin usually came home around 5, and if the twins weren’t being fussy, Kevin would ask Aaron about the day while one of them made dinner. When this started Aaron hadn’t known what Kevin expected. He didn’t feel like there was much to say about spending the day watching babies struggle to roll around. But as time went on he settled into the role of being a parent, and found that there was a lot to be said about the tiny accomplishments the girls made. Kevin seemed happy to hear it all, and Aaron gave up trying to figure out if he was just trying to be friendly and get Aaron talking or if he was genuinely invested in the twins’ daily lives.

 

They ate dinner in the loft, usually watching TV or a movie with the volume turned down so it wouldn’t bother the girls. Then they both went to bed earlier than either of them had done at any other time in their lives, because chances were one or both of them would be up during the night to settle the twins. 

 

On this particular evening, Aaron had spent a good part of the day bingeing Brooklyn 99 and was not in the mood to sit down in front of the television for another hour or two. 

 

“Can we do something else tonight?” he asked Kevin as he dished up their stir fry. “I think my brain is going to melt if I sit down in front of a TV again today.”

 

“Sure,” Kevin agreed easily. 

 

They brought their dinners up to the loft out of habit, and so that they could hear the girls if they cried out. Without the television in the background the dinner was a quiet affair, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. When they were done Kevin got up to put the dishes away, and Aaron ducked into his room and came back with a deck of cards. He shuffled a few times while he waited for Kevin to come upstairs, and when Kevin returned he was trying to see if he could manage to cut the deck one-handed. 

 

“Have you heard of the game Casino?” Aaron asked. 

 

“I think I’ve heard Andrew or Neil mention it, but I’ve never played it,” Kevin responded. 

 

“Andrew taught it to me a few years ago when he was visiting,” Aaron said. “It’s a good two-player game, easy to pick up.”

 

Kevin sat down and seemed ready to pay attention, so Aaron launched into the rules and the night began. 

 

An hour later, Aaron regretted ever bringing up Casino, let alone teaching it to Kevin. He’d lost four of the five games they’d played so far. They had also talked far more than Aaron was used to, not just about the twins and what groceries they needed, but about their university years, and what they had each done since then. 

 

Of course Aaron knew that Kevin had gone pro right out of school, knew what teams he had played on over the years. He hadn’t known that Kevin and Wymack had started going to AA meetings together, or that Kevin had quietly realized he was bisexual and had only come out to Andrew, Neil and Thea so far. 

 

In turn, Aaron told Kevin about the time he’d spent in New York visiting Randy Boyd with Matt and Dan the year after they left PSU, when Katelyn had been out of the country with her parents for Thanksgiving and Aaron wasn’t prepared to face his own family on that particular holiday without her. He opened up about realizing he was trans when he was eleven, something he probably would never have brought up if Kevin hadn’t first come out to him. 

 

Hours later, Kevin told Aaron about the Nest, about growing up with Riko. Aaron came back with stories of his childhood, growing up with Tilda. And finally, Aaron told Kevin about Katelyn. He talked like he hadn’t to anyone else besides Bee, about how he still missed her, about how good their life had been, about how he wanted to be able to talk about her because he didn’t want to forget her.

 

All in all, it was a much more intense night than Aaron had planned. He felt like he’d been put through a washing machine: tossed around and wrung out, but cleaner and brighter for it. For weeks he'd been struggling to surface beneath the weight of everything he held in, and now the fog was lifting.


	8. Chapter 8

The card games continued, not every night, but once or twice a week. They always ended up staying up too late, and but neither could regret it. 

 

It was several of these late nights later that Kevin realized he'd fucked up. 

 

“So yeah,” Aaron was saying, “Andrew kind of put a damper on my first impression on Katelyn's parents when he showed up unannounced and dragged me off to diagnose Neil’s food poisoning just because neither of them trusts doctors and Abby was out of town.”

 

“I thought you were on pretty good terms with them though?” Kevin said, making it a question.

 

“Oh I am,” Aaron assured him, chuckling. “Apparently they thought it was admirable that I was willing to make my family a priority even when I was trying to impress them.”

 

Kevin didn't respond, momentarily caught up in how pleased he was to see Aaron smiling over a memory of Katelyn. He still had rough days and Kevin wouldn't fool himself into thinking Aaron wouldn't need a lot more time to move on, but for now it was nice to hear him laugh.  _ He really has a great laugh _ , Kevin thought to himself. 

 

And that was it. The moment he realized he'd fucked up. Aaron needed a friend right now, someone who could support him through his grieving. Somewhere between helping with the twins and sharing meals and staying up late playing cards, Kevin had let himself get caught up in the domesticity. Aaron deserved friends who could be there for him without expecting anything in return. 

 

Kevin had been quiet for a few minutes now, but Aaron hadn't noticed, assuming he was focusing on the game. When Kevin broke the silence it was with some reluctance. 

 

“Pre-season training with the team starts soon,” he said. 

 

“When?” Aaron asked. 

 

Technically, it had already started, but the first two weeks focused on the rookies anyway and Kevin had managed to get out of that. “Next Monday,” he told Aaron. 

 

“Oh,” Aaron said. “I can move back home this week then, if you want to fly back and have the weekend to settle back in before your training starts.”

 

“No, that's not what I meant,” Kevin rushed to clarify. “You don't have to leave, you should stay here with the girls as long as you need to. I just wanted to warn you that I'll be leaving, but you're welcome to stay.”

 

“You don't think it's weird, me living in your house without you?” Aaron asked doubtfully.

 

“Really, it's fine,” Kevin assured him. “Honestly I'd rather have someone living here, coming and going enough to discourage burglars. Even if you moved back home I would probably ask you to come check on the house all the time anyway.”

 

Kevin could tell that Aaron wasn't really buying the argument, but he apparently decided to let it pass. “I guess it might be good to stay for a little longer, I'll talk to Bee and see what she thinks. I don't want to get to the point where I'm avoiding my house in an unhealthy way.”

 

“Of course,” Kevin agreed. “And, I know you haven't so far, but you can have people over to visit here if you want. Like the Foxes, or your friends from work, or whoever. You don't have to be all alone here while I'm gone.”

 

“Thanks man, I appreciate it,” Aaron said. He hesitated, then pushed on. “You've done a lot for me these past couple months, and, uhh, it means a lot.”

 

“I'm just glad I could help,” Kevin said honestly. “And if there's anything else I can do, just let me know.”

 

After that the conversation moved on. They went back to their game, but the weight of the knowledge that this could be their last late night game for a while hung between them. 

 

*

 

Aaron gave Kevin a ride to the airport a few days later. Apparently Kevin had bought the car that Aaron had been assuming was a long-term rental, and Aaron was once again struck by just how much money Kevin must make in his Exy career to be able to throw it away on things that he would ultimately be leaving behind in Chicago for most of the year. They left Kevin’s car in the driveway and took Aaron’s, because the twins had to come along for the ride and neither man wanted to move the car seats over. 

 

There was no tearful goodbye. Aaron tried to think of something to say to express his gratitude for everything Kevin had done lately, but all he could get out was a gruff, “Thanks. For everything.” 

 

Kevin waved as he walked away from the car, and that was it. Aaron went back to Kevin’s house, fed the twins and set them down to squirm around on the floor, and opened the book he’d been reading. He’d gotten pretty used to extended time to himself at this point, especially during the day, so at first it was like nothing had changed. Even dinner wasn’t too bad. He ate in front of the television and found himself tired enough to go to bed soon after his movie ended. 

 

*

 

By the next night, Aaron felt like he was going out of his mind. He hadn’t realized how much comfort there was in having another person around until Kevin left him alone with the twins. 

 

On an impulse, he texted Sam to ask if she wanted to come over and see the girls. He got a response about ten minutes later. Sam had just finished a shift and would love to come over; did he want her to get him anything from the bagel shop where she was stopping to grab dinner?

 

Aaron gave her Kevin's address and ordered a bagel since he hadn't worked up the energy to cook dinner yet anyway. Soon he was opening the door and showing her up to the loft where the girls were gurgling at each other in their playpen. 

 

“This place is so nice!” Sam said as they climbed the stairs. “I didn't realize you weren't in the bungalow anymore, how long ago did you move?”

 

“This is just temporary,” Aaron explained. “Kevin is letting me stay here because it was… it was hard for me to live at home, after the accident.”

 

“Kevin as in your best friend, famous Exy star Kevin Day?”

 

“He's not my best friend,” Aaron said, somewhat defensively. “He's just been helping me out.”

 

“He’s the father of your children, and he’s renting a place for you to use until you’re ready to go back home,” Sam said. “Sounds like you’re pretty close.”

 

“He bought it,” Aaron corrected instinctively, wincing as he realized it wouldn’t help his case. He could see that Sam was about to make another comment, but by this time they were in the loft and Aaron latched onto the girls as a diversion. He pointed out which twin was which, and gave Morgan to Sam to hold while he picked up Taylor himself. 

 

Sam cooed over the girls and Aaron congratulated himself on successfully distracting her from her teasing. He knew that he and Kevin had been getting closer since the accident, but he wasn’t ready to think much about it just yet.

 

Sam stayed for a few hours, catching Aaron up on recent work drama and in turn being caught up on the tiny milestones the twins had passed. Aaron had a good afternoon with her, and as he was lying in bed hours after she left he found himself reflecting on the day, trying to figure out what was nagging at him. 

 

Finally it hit him: he had barely thought about Katelyn all day. The realization wracked him with guilt. How was it fair that Aaron got to show off the twins and have a fun afternoon with a coworker when his wife was dead and never coming back? He could hear his breathing speeding up as his vision blurred with tears. Somewhere in the back of his mind was Bee’s voice telling him that this was a good thing, he wasn’t meant to grieve forever, but he was finding it hard to focus on that. With shaking hands he managed to pull out his phone and hit the first number in his speed dial, hoping Betsy’s actual voice would do more for him than the weak substitute in his mind. 

 

When the line picked up, Bee realized what was happening right away and began counting out loud, guiding Aaron to get his breathing back under control. Even once he was breathing normally again, he found the words weren’t coming. Betsy took it in stride, telling him about her day instead. She had moved on to updating him on Abby and Wymack and the current Foxes by the time he was able to begin responding to her verbally. Finally, after at least twenty minutes of chatting idly about her life with only occasional input from Aaron, Bee paused. 

 

“Do you want to talk about what triggered your panic attack?” she asked gently. 

 

Aaron took a ragged breath. He told her about hanging out with Sam, about how easy it had been and how horrible he felt for not missing Katelyn more. When he was finished he felt wrung out.    
  


Bee didn’t disappoint, telling him exactly what he knew in the back of his mind but needed to hear out loud. “You’re allowed to have good days. In fact, healing is all about working towards a time when you have more good days than bad. Just because you didn’t miss Katelyn today doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten her, or that she wasn’t important to you. It’s just not natural to spend all your time thinking about one thing or person.” 

 

“It still feels wrong,” Aaron said.

 

“I want you to challenge that feeling,” Bee instructed. “When you realize you’ve had a good day, I want you to reflect on it and tell yourself ‘I deserved to feel good today.’”

 

“I don’t think I  _ did _ deserve to feel good today though,” Aaron told her. “Not just because I wasn’t thinking about Katelyn, I get that I can’t spend my entire life thinking about her.” He hesitated, not wanting to put words to the thought he hadn’t even allowed himself to think. Betsy had years of experience waiting out Andrew’s silences though, so Aaron’s was no challenge for her. 

 

He cracked. “I missed Kevin, too.” Once the words were out, it was like a floodgate opened. “He was around for so long and I got used to it and I don’t know if I can keep living alone but it’s not like I can just fucking ask him or anyone else to drop their life and come keep me company and I can’t exactly move cities with the twins, not that I would want to anyway because I’ve built a life here and-” he sucked in a ragged breath, “and I’m afraid that if I leave this city and officially leave behind my house where I haven’t fucking lived for months anyway, I’ll be leaving behind Katelyn for good.”

 

Bee waited while he got his breath back under control, and then broke the silence. “Let’s work through this one piece at a time. First of all, it’s okay to miss Kevin. You don’t have to feel guilty for missing someone who provided you companionship at a very low point in your life. You certainly don’t have to punish yourself and decide that you don’t deserve a good day just because you missed having a friend around.”

 

“Okay,” Aaron acknowledged reluctantly, waiting for her to continue. 

 

“Now, as far as I’m aware, several of your close friends are professional athletes. I don’t know exactly how these sorts of contracts work, but I’m sure some of them have enough pull to switch to a team in Chicago. I can’t speak for anyone, but I expect the sport itself is more important at least to some of them than anything tied to a location.”

 

Now Aaron had to interrupt. “The season is starting soon, they’re already in pre-season training. They might be rich enough to buy out their contracts and just drop out for a season, but I don’t think even the Son of Exy has enough pull to get approved to switch to another team when he’s already been training in Texas and getting to know the players there and their strengths and weaknesses.”

 

“That may be the case. I still think you should consider trying to get a roommate, whether that’s one of the Foxes or another friend. I don’t think living alone is helpful for you at this point. I also don’t think you should rule out Kevin, or Andrew and Neil, based on your own judgement that they couldn’t go a year not playing on an Exy team. You may be surprised by what they’re all willing to do for family,” Bee said. 

 

“I can’t live with Andrew again,” Aaron said, more to himself than anything. 

 

Betsy clearly didn’t feel the need to go down that road, because she moved on. “Finally, while I agree that now is not a good time for you to be moving cities, I want to address your fear of leaving Katelyn behind. Your life with Katelyn is not grounded in a place. You met in South Carolina, you were married in New York, and you bought a house in Illinois. You’ve travelled all over America together, and if I recall correctly, you proposed in Germany. You’re treating your house as a symbol of your relationship with Katelyn. I’d like you to work on changing this mentality, because your relationship was so much more than that house. No matter where you end up, you will always have shared all those years with her, and the memories will stay with you.”

 

Aaron knew he had been oversimplifying things, but once again having Bee say it out loud helped. After years of working with him, Betsy was familiar with how Aaron processed things, which was probably why she didn’t press the issue despite how little he’d actually responded. She knew he would take what she said into consideration and come back to her later if he took issue with it. 

 

Instead, she allowed Aaron to move the conversation to safer topics. He told her about how he had been bonding with the twins, learning the little differences between them in a way people had rarely bothered to with him and Andrew. 

 

When they wrapped up, Aaron was exhausted, but he forced himself to text Kevin before he could think too hard about it. 

 

_ (12:47 a.m.) i see what you meant about going crazy in this big house all alone. _


	9. Chapter 9

When Kevin stirred in the middle of the night, at first he wasn't sure what had woken him. He didn't remember a nightmare, which would be the usual suspect. 

 

He rolled over, grasping for his phone to check the time, and solved the mystery in the process. He had a new text from Aaron, who was still set as a priority contact so that his notifications would ring through even when Kevin's phone was on silent. 

 

When Kevin read Aaron's text, it was all he could do to stop himself from getting on a plane to Chicago that second. He knew he had to stay in Texas, he knew the season was starting in less than two weeks, but Aaron needed him. Aaron was all alone and had reached out to  _ Kevin _ of all people. 

 

He texted back,  _ Do you want to skype or something? _ and got up to make a coffee so that he wouldn't fall asleep before Aaron responded. He barely took his eyes off his phone while the Keurig machine heated up and gurgled and spat out his drink. Five minutes later he had a hot cup of black coffee, and no new messages. 

 

At a loss for what to do next, Kevin walked out to the balcony to see if Andrew or Neil were awake next door. They had all come a long way since university, but old habits died hard, and either one of them could be found outside for a cigarette (and in Kevin's case, some fresh air) and some company on a rough night. When Kevin got outside though, the balcony next door was empty. Sighing, Kevin sat down and tried to think about how he could help Aaron. 

 

*

 

Neil was convinced that Andrew had a “Kevin sense" leftover from the days of their deal, and on nights like tonight, Andrew almost believed him. How else could he explain waking up for no discernable reason with the urge to go out on the balcony? He trusted his instincts though, so he headed for the door,  lighting a cigarette on the way. Sure enough, when he walked outside he found Kevin next door, sipping from a mug and staring forward blankly. 

 

Kevin startled when Andrew moved into his periphery, getting up to move over to the railing. He had that constipated look on his face that meant he had been thinking, and Andrew mentally prepared himself to drag whatever was bothering Kevin out of him. 

 

Kevin surprised him by saving him the trouble. “I'm thinking about quitting the team.”

 

Andrew wasn't easily surprised, but his mouth fell open and he watched in irritation as his cigarette tumbled to the ground six stories below. Just for that, he made Kevin wait while he dug out a new one and lit it before responding. 

 

“Are you that tired of being alive, or just looking to shake things up in your life?” he asked. “Last I checked, you still owe 80 percent of a professional Exy salary to a Japanese prick at the end of the year.”

 

Kevin's eyes widened. “I didn't even think about that. Aaron texted me, and I don't think he’s ready to live alone, and I was thinking I would take the year off to go back to Chicago and then try to get a spot on the team there next year…” He trailed off, clearly stuck on the Moriyama dilemma now. “Maybe you could go to Chicago this year? You don't owe Ichirou anything.”

 

“It wouldn't help Aaron to have me there,” Andrew told him. “We’re better off when we have some distance between us. And besides, I don't exactly relish the thought of leaving Neil alone for a year.”

 

“What if-?” Kevin cut himself off, clearly having some sort of internal debate. Andrew had some idea of what Kevin was thinking, but he waited his friend out. Kevin surprised him for a second time that night when instead of finishing his question, his shoulders dropped as he said, “Nevermind.”

 

At this point Andrew had already made the decision though. “Just ask. I know you want to.”

 

Kevin looked torn. Something in Andrew's face must have convinced him, because he hesitantly asked, “If he would accept it, could you pay Ichirou this year?”

 

“Yes. I have enough in savings that it wouldn't make a huge difference for me,” Andrew said. “Only for one year though. You help my brother and I pay your debt.”

 

“Thank you,” Kevin said. “I'll do whatever I can for him.”

Andrew considered this. “You have to make sure Aaron wants you there first.” Then, he asked a question that he hadn't had to ask in years. “Do we have a deal?”

 

Kevin reached over the balcony and shook his hand. 

 

*

 

Aaron woke up with his phone in his hand, and realized he must have fallen asleep just after he got off the phone with Betsy the night before. Setting it down on the bed, he went to go calm Taylor before she woke Morgan up. 

 

Taylor definitely needed her diaper changed. As he carried her out of the room and away from her sleeping sister, Aaron found himself humming the French lullaby that he'd heard Kevin singing so many times now. He was pretty sure he could sing it phonetically by this point if he tried, even though he didn't know what any of the words meant. 

 

Once Taylor was cleaned up she calmed down pretty quickly, and Aaron only walked around with her for a few more minutes before she was sound asleep in his arms. Morgan barely even stirred as Aaron lowered her twin back into the crib, and Aaron prayed to a God he didn't believe in that he could just go back to sleep and the rest of the night would be peaceful.

 

He flopped down on his bed only to flinch back as he landed on something hard. His phone. He picked it up to move it to the nightstand, and the screen lit up as his thumb brushed the home button. He had two messages from Kevin. 

 

_ (12:51 a.m.) Do you want to skype or something? _

 

_ (2:02 a.m.) I want to talk to you about something. Can you call me in the morning? _

 

Aaron had no idea what that was about, but he wasn't about to wake Kevin up at - he glanced at the time and groaned - 3 in the morning when he could be going back to sleep himself. Making a mental note to call his friend back the next day, Aaron put his phone on the nightstand and let sleep tug him under once more. 

 

*

 

Kevin was glad he'd given himself a few days to settle back into his apartment. It meant he had today to figure out whether he was quitting the team before he was expected at practice tomorrow. 

 

He woke up early as usual and headed out for a jog, knowing Aaron wouldn't be up before nine if he could help it. Neil met him in the hall with a water bottle in his hand and an accusing look on his face. 

 

“I hear you're leaving us short a striker two weeks before the season starts,” Neil shot at him by way of greeting. 

 

“How do you already know about that?” Kevin spluttered. “I know Andrew isn't awake this early in the morning.” 

 

Neil waited until Kevin fell into step with him to respond. “I woke up when Andrew went outside last night. He told me when he came in. It's true, then?”

 

“It's not set in stone,” Kevin told him. “I have to talk to Aaron and Ichirou first.”

 

Neil didn't say anything as they reached the stairs, but Kevin felt the need to defend himself further. 

 

“Besides, you're the second best striker in the league and it's not like we're the only two on the team. And you have until next year to find a replacement before you have to play against me.” By now they were jogging down the stairs, and when Neil looked back up, Kevin saw he was smirking. “What?”

 

“I'm telling Jeremy that you think I'm a better striker than him,” Neil teased. 

 

Kevin huffed. “You are,” he said seriously as he opened the door to the gym in the basement. “Jeremy’s the better captain though.”

 

“How would you even know that?” Neil asked as he walked over to his usual treadmill. “You've never played with him.”

 

“He was on our team for the charity game in February,” Kevin argued. “That one game was enough to tell.”

 

Neil shook his head but he was smiling, and Kevin knew his friend wouldn't hold it against him if he did end up leaving the team. 

 

When he got back to his apartment an hour later, Kevin found a missed call waiting for him. He checked the voicemail before calling back, just in case the message Aaron had left said he was busy. Aaron’s voice on the machine sounded completely drained.

 

_ “Hey man, guess I didn't catch you before your run. Morgan actually slept through the night, which of course means she's up and ready for the day at like 6 a.m. Anyway, what did you need to talk about? I'm probably not gonna get back to sleep until the girls go down for their nap, so if you call back in the next couple hours I should still be up.” _

 

Kevin called back, and the line had barely begun ringing when Aaron picked up. “What's up?”

 

“I'm thinking about taking a year off from Exy,” Kevin said, figuring it was better to be direct. “I could come back to Chicago, spend the year coaching or even just training and staying in shape, and get a spot on the team there next year.”

 

Aaron was quiet for a minute, and when he spoke it was with forced levity. “What brought this on? You miss the girls that much already?”

 

“I don’t know man, I guess I just got really worried when I saw your text last night,” Kevin said seriously. He searched for a way to explain himself, some excuse other than  _ I think I’ve started caring about you a lot more than I expected to _ . “Maybe it’s stupid. But I mean, I also would like to be there for the girls. I know you want to raise them yourself, but it can’t hurt to have me nearby in the long term, right? I don’t know if I can live with myself being as far away as we originally planned. And this way you wouldn’t be all alone in that big house.” 

 

“‘I just got worried’ is kind of a lame excuse to drop your career,” Aaron said doubtfully. 

 

“I wouldn’t be dropping my career,” Kevin rushed to assure him, “just taking a break. I’ll even call the Chicago managers today if it will make you feel better, and make sure they can make a spot for me next year before I do anything drastic.” He would, although he knew he would make the move no matter what the Chicago team said. 

 

“It still feels like you’re uprooting your life for no reason,” Aaron said. “I’m fine here. Sure, I got a bit bored last night, but I’m fine now.” 

 

“Okay  _ Neil _ ,” Kevin said, prompting a huff of laughter from Aaron as he realized who he sounded like. Still, Kevin needed to make it more about himself and the twins to get Aaron on board. “Maybe it’s not just about you. I just…” he hesitated, not needing to fake the emotion in his voice, “I can’t stop thinking about how it went for my dad. And I know it wouldn’t be the same, I would still get to visit even if I didn’t live nearby, but I kind of want to be a more permanent person in the girls’ lives. I feel like I’ll miss so much if I’m only seeing them on holidays and the off-season.”

 

Kevin heard Aaron’s breath catch over the phone. 

 

“Oh,” he said. “Of course. Of course you can be closer to them, I don’t want to keep you away or anything. I mean, I’ll still have full custody, but if you want to be a father to the twins too, I don’t want to stop you. I just didn’t want you turning your life upside down just for me.” 

 

It was mostly for Aaron, but Kevin consoled himself with the fact that he hadn’t been lying about wanting to be around for the twins more either. He kept Aaron on the line for a while longer, telling him how annoyed Neil was at needing a new striker and hearing about Aaron’s friend who had visited the day before. By the end of the call, Aaron’s voice sounded less worn out and Kevin counted it as a win. 

 

He decided to go out and get breakfast, texting Neil to see if he and Andrew wanted anything as he left. He would need to fortify himself before making his next call.

 

*

 

Aaron hung up, something nagging at him. Bee’s words from last night about getting a Fox to come live with him came back to him suddenly. Suspicious, he texted her. 

 

_ (7:58 a.m.) have u talked to kevin recently? _

 

He didn’t get a response right away, not that he expected to on a Sunday morning, so he set down his phone and went to play with the girls. They still didn’t do much other than lift their heads off the ground, but they liked to gurgle at him and smile when he made faces at them. 

 

A few hours and a nap later, Aaron’s phone lit up with Bee’s answer.

 

_ (10:16 a.m.) It’s been a few weeks since I last spoke with him. _

 

_ (10:17 a.m.) Why do you ask? _

 

Aaron figured that would be the case. He didn’t think Betsy would break doctor-patient confidentiality, and he definitely didn’t think she would lie about it, so he supposed she was off the hook. 

 

_ (10:19 a.m.) he wants to quit the dallas team and move to chicago _

 

_ (10:20 a.m.) i texted him last night after i got off the phone with u and i guess he got worried _

 

_ (10:21 a.m.) well and he wants to be able to be around the girls more _

 

_ (10:21 a.m.) i think thats a big part of it _

 

_ (10:24 a.m.) What do you think about that? _

 

_ (10:25 a.m.) well the last thing i wanna do is keep him away from the girls, theyre technically his kids too _

 

_ (10:26 a.m.) and i mean i guess u were right last night _

 

_ (10:26 a.m.) its better if i have someone around right now _

 

_ (10:27 a.m.) hes gonna make sure he can get a spot on the chicago team for next year before he quits dallas _

 

_ (10:30 a.m.) Sounds like this is good news then. :-) _

 

*

 

Three exhausting phone calls later, Kevin was free to leave Dallas for Chicago. The manager of the Chicago Stars fell over himself to assure Kevin that they would make space for him in their lineup the following year. Regulations wouldn’t permit him to train with them this year, but they were more than happy to comp him season tickets once the contract was signed so that he could go to the games, study their strategy, and meet his future teammates. 

 

Kevin’s former coach wasn’t exactly happy to see him go, but they couldn’t turn down the amount of money he was offering to buy out his contract. The PR team was working now to draft an announcement for that night, and Kevin would be expected to answer some questions from the press the next day before he got on a flight to Chicago.

 

The call to Ichirou had been the worst one. He made a lot of money from sponsorship deals that Kevin and Neil had made together, and they were well-established as partners. Kevin had ended up putting the phone on speaker so that Andrew could negotiate his new (temporary) deal with Ichirou. Andrew had rarely accepted sponsors in the past, but now he would be expected to pull in enough money to make up for Kevin’s loss. He and Neil would do advertisements together this year, which could work just as well given that Andrew and Neil were publically out as romantic partners. Meanwhile, Kevin would commit to making a few public appearances throughout the year to keep his name in the news so that he would have sponsorship deals ready for him when he got back on the court. 

 

It was a lot, and he would never let on to Aaron how much he (and Andrew) had agreed to in order to make this happen, but it was happening. 

 

*

 

_ “Good morning, America! My name is Kelsey Ferguson and…” _ The rest of the talk show host’s introduction was drowned out as Taylor woke up alone in her crib and promptly began wailing. Morgan had finished her bottle a few minutes earlier, so Aaron set her down in her playpen and went to fetch her sister. He walked back into the loft in time to catch Kevin's response. 

 

_ “Thanks Kelsey. My flight was really early,”  _ Kevin chuckled, _ “but worth it. It's been too long since we've been able to catch up.” _

 

Kelsey blushed, and Aaron wondered if she had learned how to do that on command. It seemed that the station had done all they could to get a carbon copy of Kathy Ferdinand to take over her morning show. 

 

_ “And it seems like it will be a while again after today! Is the awful news I read last night really true?”  _ Kelsey asked with a frown. 

 

_ “Yes, it's true,” _ Kevin said.  _ “I'm taking a year off from Exy because of something that came up recently, but I'll be back before you know it.” _

 

He smiled reassuringly, while Kelsey's eyes lit up as she honed in on the scoop she was about to get.  _ “You can't just leave us hanging like that, Kevin! What could have possibly dragged our darling Son of Exy off the court just weeks before the start of the season?” _

 

Kevin sighed, but gave Kelsey an indulgent smile.  _ “Damn, I thought I might get away with just that.” _ The audience laughed.  _ “You've all supported me for so long, I guess I owe you an explanation if I'm gonna leave without warning.” _

 

Aaron privately thought that Kevin owed no such thing, but he knew celebrity culture was a bit fucked up. 

 

_ “I’ve been dealing with a family emergency,” _ Kevin began, face growing serious. _ “My close friend Aaron went through a crisis recently, and I need to take some time to support him and his family. I trust that my fans will be respectful of my privacy during this difficult time.” _

 

_ “Of course,”  _ Kelsey agreed.  _ “And would this by any chance be Aaron Minyard you're referring to, Andrew Minyard’s twin and your former teammate?” _

 

_ “You've done your homework,”  _ Kevin remarked wryly.  _ “Aaron hasn't been in the public eye much since we were Foxes.” _

 

_ “We know how you former Foxes stick together,”  _ Kelsey said.  _ “Of course we're not going to forget the brother of one of your best friends.” _

 

Aaron chuckled a bit, imagining Andrew's reaction to being referred to that way (even if it was true). Kevin and Kelsey had successfully lightened the conversation, and now they moved on to talk about how the Dallas Rangers would cope with the loss of a starting striker. 

 

Aaron tuned it out a bit, looking down to find Taylor just finishing up with her bottle. Thinking about how empty he had left the fridge get just in the last couple days, Aaron sighed and set about getting the girls ready for a trip to the grocery. If Kevin was going to put off his career to come here, the least Aaron could do was make him dinner. 


	10. Chapter 10

The Chicago Stars weren't as much of a joke as the Foxes had been in collegiate Exy, but Kevin would certainly have his work cut out for him the following year. The last game of the regular season was an away game, and Kevin dutifully turned it on even though he knew there was no way the team could scrape enough points to make the playoffs. 

 

He wasn't concerned; the team had potential. The coach was saying as much in the post-game interview when Aaron walked in to announce that dinner was ready. By this point Kevin was less focused on the television and more focused on playing with the giggling twins on the floor next to him. Taylor shrieked with laughter, while Morgan rolled over at the sound of Aaron's voice. She scrambled onto her hands and knees, taking off towards Aaron. 

 

Kevin's eyes flew to Aaron's face, and he was rewarded with his friend's soft, awed smile as his daughter crawled for the first time. Taylor, not about to be outdone, squirmed out from under Kevin's hand and crawled after her sister. 

 

Kevin surreptitiously reached for his phone, hoping to capture the moment. Just as he pulled it out of his pocket though, it started vibrating with an incoming call from a number he didn't recognize. 

 

He picked it up, wondering who might have his personal number when he hadn't given it out to anyone recently. “Hello?”

 

_ “Hello Kevin,” _ came the response in smooth Japanese. Kevin's heart stopped. He quickly got up, making a beeline for his room and closing the door when he got there.   _ “I believe we had an agreement that involved you staying relevant this year,” _ Ichirou continued, _ “not disappearing for months at a time.” _

 

Not wanting Aaron to overhear him speaking Japanese, Kevin continued through his room to the ensuite and closed that door behind him too.  _ “Yes, my lord. I'm sorry, there haven't been many Exy events recently. I've been seen attending every home game in Chicago.” _

 

_ “I don't care for your excuses,” _ Ichirou cut in. _ “There's an event to announce the teams in the playoffs, yes? You will be there, and you will be seen interacting with several former and future teammates. You will also be seen at multiple playoff games, and allow yourself to be stopped for interviews,”  _ Ichirou’s voice was cold.  _ “Investments that cannot retain their value are not worth keeping around. Do I make myself clear?” _

 

It was all Kevin could do to choke out,  _ “Yes, my lord.” _

 

Ichirou didn't say anything else, and it took Kevin a minute to realize that the line had gone dead. Noticing his own ashen face in the mirror, Kevin grimaced and set about putting himself back together. Aaron had no idea about his initial deal with Ichirou, let alone what he had implicated himself and Andrew in this year for Aaron's sake. 

 

He splashed some water on his face to bring back his colour and arranged his features into a believably neutral expression. It would have to do. 

 

Aaron looked up when Kevin came out of his room. He was sitting in front of the stairs, apparently barring the twins from tumbling down them. “What was that all about?” he asked curiously. 

 

“Oh, it was just my agent calling to tell me I should go to the banquet where they announce which teams are in the playoffs,” Kevin lied. “I just didn't want the twins screaming in the background.”

 

“Just that?” Aaron pressed. “You looked like you'd seen a ghost. Is everything okay?”

 

“Everything's fine, really,” Kevin insisted. “What's for dinner?”

 

“Spaghetti,” Aaron said, accepting the subject change. “Do you want to grab Morgan?” he asked, lifting Taylor himself. “I guess we're gonna have to get a gate for the stairs now that these little troublemakers are crawling around.”

 

Kevin nodded absently, stooping to pick up Morgan before following Aaron down the stairs. When they reached the kitchen, the mouth-watering smell from the pot of sauce on the stove finally pulled Kevin from his thoughts. 

 

He and Aaron set the twins in their high chairs at the kitchen table, and Kevin sat down to begin giving them each little spoonfuls of pureed carrots while Aaron dished up the spaghetti. By the time Aaron walked over to sit down, the twins were both refusing to look at Kevin. He passed the spoon to Aaron who managed to coax a few more mouthfuls into each of the twins. 

 

“This tastes amazing, Aaron,” Kevin said around his third bite. 

 

“Thanks,” Aaron mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was Katelyn’s recipe, I wanted to see if I could do it justice.”

 

“Well you definitely have,” Kevin assured him. “It's delicious.”

 

Aaron had come a long way in the months since the accident. He still had hard days now and then, and he still didn't leave the house for much more than a walk or a trip to the grocery, but Kevin often noticed him going out of his way to remind himself of his wife. When Aaron chose to share those reminders and memories with him, Kevin counted himself lucky to have earned Aaron's close friendship and trust. 

 

As he thought about how Aaron didn't go out much, an idea began to form in Kevin's mind. He waited to bring it up until he had finished cleaning up the dishes, Aaron had settled the girls down in their crib, and they were sitting down for a game of Casino. 

 

“You should come with me to the banquet next weekend,” he told Aaron. He knew he had to make a strong case to get Aaron to consider it. “Hear me out. It's just one night, you could ask Sam to stay over here with the girls.” Kevin had met Sam a handful of times now, and knew she was utterly taken with the twins. “A bunch of our friends are going to be there,” he continued, “and it would be good to get out of the house for something other than groceries. Don't you think it would be nice to go to bed and not worry about waking up early with the twins? How long has it been since you slept in?”

 

“I guess it's been a while,” Aaron began, “but don't you think it's a little soon to be leaving the twins alone overnight? Taylor still doesn't always sleep through the night, and Morgan wakes up so early,” he said, frowning. “I don't want to put Sam through all that.”

 

“You put yourself through it every night though,” Kevin pointed out. “I think you deserve a break.”

 

He could tell that he was slowly convincing Aaron, he just needed to be patient. Sure enough, Aaron was quiet for a minute as he mulled it over before finally relenting. “I'll ask Sam, but if she says no, then I'm not going.”

 

“Tell her I'll give her a signed Exy ball on top of whatever we're paying her,” Kevin joked. 

 

Aaron looked down, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Are we going to play this game or not?”

 

Kevin started, having completely forgotten about the cards between them. He grabbed them to start dealing, but he was distracted for the rest of the game as he contemplated how he might convince Sam to babysit for them. 

 

*

 

In the end, Kevin needn't have worried. Sam was thrilled to spend a night with the girls, especially if it meant getting Aaron out of the house for a while. She had been worrying about him almost as much as Kevin. 

 

So, just over a week later, Kevin found himself waiting for a flight to New York next to a jittery Aaron. His new coach had insisted that Kevin fly out with the team on their private jet, for which Kevin was grateful. Already just in the fifteen minutes they'd been waiting he'd been approached a few times for pictures and autographs. 

 

Aaron scowled as another girl walked over, batting her eyelashes and smiling coyly. “Could I get a picture with you?” she asked. 

 

“Of course,” Kevin said, giving her his charming public smile. 

 

She dug out her phone and looked around, but there was no one near them other than Aaron. “Can you take the picture?” she asked him. 

 

Aaron apparently hadn't expected to be included in this interaction, because he had spent the last thirty seconds glaring at the girl. Now he blinked, shook his head a bit as if to clear it, and held out his hand for the girl's phone. 

 

Kevin put his arm around the girl as Aaron moved a few feet away, and smiled for the picture. As soon as it was done, he extricated himself and Aaron gave back her phone with such an annoyed look that she scampered off without saying another word. 

 

“What was that all about?” Kevin asked once she was gone. “People are going to start thinking it's Andrew here with me if you keep up that scowl.”

 

“I just hate that people think they're entitled to you every time you go out in public,” Aaron complained, a bit defensively. “Nobody likes waiting at the airport, why do they think they're making your life better by bothering you?”

 

Kevin had to smile. “I'm a celebrity though,” he told Aaron, “they are a bit entitled to me. If I didn't play nice with fans I wouldn't get as many sponsorship deals and I wouldn't get paid as much.”

 

“You can play nice with fans at games and official events,” Aaron groused. “You shouldn't have to do it 24/7.”

 

Kevin was hopelessly endeared by how defensive Aaron was of him. He had to look away to hide his grin, knowing he wouldn't be able to explain it if Aaron asked. 

 

Their flight was called shortly after that, and the trip passed fairly uneventfully. Soon they were getting ready in their hotel room before they had to leave for the dinner. 

 

“So who all is going to be there tonight?” Aaron asked as he fumbled with his tie. 

 

Kevin walked over and batted his hands away, well-practiced at tying other people's ties after years of Neil showing up to team events with his knotted haphazardly, and Andrew with no tie at all. Belatedly, he remembered that Aaron had asked him a question and was now looking at him expectantly. 

 

“Andrew, Neil, Matt and Allison will all be there with their teams, and I imagine Matt and Allison will be bringing Dan and Renee,” he said. “Jean, Jeremy and Thea will all be there as well.”

 

“Do any of the Foxes know I'm coming?” Aaron asked. 

 

“I told Andrew when I was talking to him the other day, and I'm sure he told Neil,” Kevin answered, “but I don't think anyone else knows. It can be a nice surprise.”

 

“Yeah, it'll be good to see them all again,” Aaron agreed. He walked towards the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. “Do you think we should call Sam to check in?” 

 

“We called her like an hour ago when we got off the plane,” Kevin said. “I'm sure if there was any problem, she would call us.”

 

“Okay,” Aaron sighed, turning the knob.

 

Kevin's phone buzzed as they walked towards the elevator bank. He pulled it out and found a text from Neil. 

 

_ (6:02 p.m.) we're in the same hotel as you, wanna drive over together? _

 

Kevin knew that Andrew would rent a car overnight rather than rely on someone he didn't know for transportation. He also remembered Aaron confessing a few months earlier that Andrew's driving made him anxious ever since the accident. Rather than put Aaron through that, he called a town car to pick them up. 

 

_ (6:06 p.m.) We already have a ride on the way. See you there! _

 

By the time they got down to the lobby, they only had to wait a few minutes for their car to arrive. Kevin was pretty sure he spotted Neil and Andrew stepping out of the elevator just as he climbed into the car after Aaron. Somehow the couple still beat them to the venue. They were flipping off a few photographers as they lingered by the door for a smoke when Kevin and Aaron's car pulled to a stop. 

 

The paparazzi did a hilarious double take from Andrew to Aaron as he stepped out of the car behind Kevin. Aaron put his head down and hurried over to the zone of unusable pictures that Andrew and Neil had created, so Kevin smiled and tried to keep the focus on him. He knew the point of coming to this event was to be seen, but he hadn't meant to push Aaron into the spotlight. 

 

“Kevin!” 

 

“Over here!”

 

“Kevin, what team do you favour for the Championship this year?”

 

Kevin latched onto the voice from his left, pleased to be able to answer a question about Exy. 

 

“I think Dallas has a good shot at it,” he answered. “Neil is definitely the best striker in the league this year.”

 

“So there’s no bad blood between you and your former teammates?” another voice asked.

 

“Not at all, I wish them the best of luck in the coming playoff season.”

 

“What does Andrew Minyard think about you dating his brother?” someone shouted from the back of the group. 

 

Kevin froze for a split second, before forcing a chuckle. “I don’t know where you came up with that, there’s nothing going on between me and Aaron.” 

 

A cacophony of questions started up now. 

 

“Are you living with Aaron Minyard?”

 

“Are you gay?”

 

“Was your previous relationship with Thea Muldani just a publicity stunt?”

 

Kevin felt a hand on his elbow and turned, slumping with relief when he saw that it was Andrew. 

 

“If you’re not going to ask about Exy, fuck off,” Andrew told the reporters. He tugged on Kevin’s arm, pulling him towards the door which Aaron and Neil had apparently disappeared through. 

 

The moment Kevin stepped through the door, Andrew let go of him. Aaron and Neil were waiting just inside, and the four of them set off to find their seats. 

 

Unfortunately the tables were arranged by team, so Kevin and Aaron would be sitting with the Stars and wouldn’t be able to find the rest of the Foxes until after the announcement of the first round of playoffs. Once they’d found their table and he had made polite introductions between Aaron and the few teammates around him, Kevin zoned out for the several minutes of small talk before the speeches began. He found himself watching Aaron fiddle with his phone in his lap, turning the screen on every minute or so only to find that there were no new messages. 

 

Kevin surreptitiously pulled out his own phone and sent a quick text to Sam. 

 

_ (6:35 p.m.) Will you do me a favour and text Aaron telling him the twins are doing well? He’s going crazy beside me. _

 

A minute later he watched Aaron startle as his phone buzzed, scrambling to turn it on. As he read whatever Sam had sent him, his shoulders dropped and he seemed to relax a bit. 

 

“Sam says the twins are doing well,” he told Kevin in a low voice. “They went down fine for their afternoon nap, and she just finished getting them through dinner.”

 

“That’s good,” Kevin said. “I told you they would be fine with Sam.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Aaron grumbled. “I’ll feel better when I get home and see that they’re fine.”

 

Kevin was about to tell Sam to send Aaron a picture of the girls, but at that moment someone climbed up on the stage to tap the microphone. 

 

“Good evening, everyone,” the host began. Kevin wasn’t sure who was hosting the event this year, and honestly he didn’t really care. He knew he should pay attention at these events, but he found himself studying Aaron’s profile instead. 

 

Suddenly everyone started clapping. Kevin hadn't heard a word of the speech. He came back to himself and joined the applause, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed his delayed reaction. He found Andrew a few tables over already looking his way, something a little too knowing in his expression. Kevin averted his gaze, resolving to avoid ending up alone with Andrew for the rest of the night. 

 

All too quickly the announcement of the first round of the playoffs was made, and then everyone was standing up and mingling. Aaron nudged Kevin towards the table next to theirs. When Kevin looked over, he realized that Dan and Matt must have been sitting there the whole time and he hadn't noticed. Dan was heading towards the bar, while Matt beckoned Kevin and Aaron over to their table. 

 

As they sat down and started chatting about the Exy season, Kevin was struck by how much he had missed some of the other Foxes this year. Normally he saw them a few times throughout the season when they played against each other, and then again in the off-season during the years they bothered to organize some sort of reunion. This year he had been so wrapped up in helping Aaron that he'd barely seen anyone else in months. 

 

Dan came back over and regaled them with tales of the current Foxes. Kevin had heard most of these from his dad in their regular phone calls, so he zoned out a bit watching Aaron’s reactions to the stories out of the corner of his eye. Allison, Renee, Andrew and Neil wandered over just as Aaron and Matt started comparing baby pictures, and for a while the talk was all on the twins. Kevin felt exposed under Renee’s gaze, like she could see through him as quickly as Andrew seemed to. He tried to pull himself out of his head, jumping into a conversation with Neil and Allison about the upcoming round of playoffs. 

 

For a while Kevin was able to stay engaged in the conversation, just focusing on Exy and setting up bets with Allison on the outcome of the season. Then he felt Aaron shift beside him, tapping his arm. 

 

“Well we should host the next reunion in Chicago,” Aaron was saying to Dan. “Kev bought a huge house there, there’s only the one guest bedroom but I’m sure we have enough couches for everyone else.”

 

Hearing Aaron refer to them together and treat the house as his own made Kevin’s heart clench. He struggled to keep his reaction off his face. Aaron was looking at him for confirmation, so Kevin made himself smile and nod. 

 

“Of course,” he said, “we’d be happy to have you all. You could finally meet the twins, and I could probably even get us into the Stars’ court for a scrimmage.” 

 

Everyone laughed, and Kevin thought he was in the clear until he glanced across the table and found Andrew studying his face. He looked down, noticing Aaron’s phone screen coming on where it lay on the table. He picked it up without thinking about it, nudging Aaron when he saw that it was Sam calling. 

 

Aaron’s face pinched with worry and he grabbed the phone, quickly standing up and walking away from the table. Kevin watched him walk away, not noticing Andrew standing up as well until it was too late. 

 

“Walk with me,” Andrew said. 

 

Kevin dutifully followed Andrew across the big room and out a side door of the venue that he hadn’t known existed. He waited in agonizing silence while Andrew walked around the corner of the building, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a few drags. Finally, Andrew spoke. 

 

“Whatever’s going on between you and my brother, don’t fuck it up.”

 

Kevin was stunned. He had expected Andrew to tell him to back off, to tell him (like he’d told himself) that Aaron didn’t need this right now, to leave him alone. He’d expected Andrew to warn him off or even threaten him. He didn’t know what to do with this. All he could get out was, “What?”

 

“I’d have to be blind not to see the way you look at each other,” Andrew said. “I don’t care if you two aren’t ready to tell anyone, whatever. Just don’t hurt him. He’s been through enough lately.”

 

“You’ve got it wrong,” Kevin started. Distantly, he heard a door opening, but he ignored it. It was important that he set Andrew straight before he decided to talk to his brother about this. “There’s nothing going on between us. Aaron doesn’t feel the same way as me, and I know he doesn’t need me pining after him. He just needs a friend right now, the last thing I want to do is make him feel uncomfortable or pressured.”

 

Quick footsteps sounded from around the corner. Too late, Kevin remembered the door opening as he whirled around to see Aaron with a furious look on his face. 


	11. Chapter 11

“Go away, Andrew,” Aaron said, leaving no room for argument in his voice. It was a testament of how far they’d come over the years that his brother respected his wishes, grinding out his cigarette and walking back inside without a word. When he was sure he’d heard the door close behind Andrew, Aaron rounded on Kevin. “What the fuck?”

 

“Aaron, I-” Kevin began, but Aaron wasn’t ready to hear whatever he was about to say.

 

“I’ve been living with you for months. I let you comfort me, I  _ trusted _ you. How long has this been going on?” Aaron asked. “Did you feel this way when Katelyn and I asked you to father my children?”

 

“No, of course not,” Kevin cut in. He looked miserable. “It was more recent than that. And this is why I didn’t want to tell you, I knew you wouldn’t feel the same way.”

 

“Katelyn’s been gone less than a year and I’ve fucking moved in with a guy who’s-” Aaron cut himself off, before pushing forward. “I’ve moved in with a guy who’s in love with me? Do you realize how fucked up that is?” 

 

He felt dirty, like he’d somehow been cheating on Katelyn this whole time even though he hadn’t known about Kevin’s feelings, and Katelyn was gone. Meanwhile, Kevin looked crushed. “I don’t-” he started, but Aaron cut him off again.

 

“I need some space, man,” he said, suddenly exhausted. “I’m gonna get an early flight back. You should stay here, get seen at the event or whatever your agent wanted.”

 

With that, he turned on his heel and walked away from the building. He kept walking until he found a main street where he hailed a cab to the airport. The ride was a good distraction, mostly because Aaron was too busy trying not to have a panic attack from the cabbie’s aggressive driving to be able to think about anything else. 

 

It was only when he was climbing out on shaking feet at the airport that he realized with some regret that he hadn’t said goodbye to any of his friends. He didn’t have time to dwell on it, his brain was swirling with too many other thoughts. He found himself analyzing every interaction he’d had with Kevin over the last several months, trying to pinpoint a moment when Kevin’s behaviour had changed, when he should have noticed something.

 

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he approached the departure board, scanning for a flight home. He found one leaving in just over an hour, so he quickly made his way over to buy a ticket. By the time he finished being uncomfortably felt up by the TSA agent and found his gate, he only had to wait about twenty minutes for his flight to board. 

 

Unfortunately, twenty minutes was just enough time for Aaron to start regretting how badly he’d reacted to Kevin’s unintentional confession. He knew Kevin couldn’t control the way he felt, and he believed that Kevin had been honest when he told Andrew that he didn’t want Aaron to feel pressured. Still, the whole thing rubbed him the wrong way. 

 

Guilt crawled under his skin even though he had nothing to do with Kevin’s feelings, and couldn’t possibly have condoned them when he wasn’t even aware of them. The discomfort kept him from texting Kevin long enough for his flight to board, and then he got to put his phone on airplane mode and ignore the world. 

 

He knew he would probably have to call Betsy to unpack the night’s events, but for tonight he just wanted to stop thinking. He found his seat, buckled in and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the plane was landing in Chicago. When he turned his phone back on a slew of texts came in, but Aaron swiped the notifications away without opening any of them. Instead, he dialed Sam. It wasn’t even midnight yet, so Aaron wasn’t too surprised when Sam answered right away.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey Sam,” Aaron started. “I’m back in town early. It’s a long story and I don’t really want to get into it, just wanted to give you a heads up that I’m coming back to the house tonight.” 

 

“Is everything okay?” Sam asked. “Is Kevin with you?”

 

“It’s fine, Kevin’s still in New York,” Aaron said. 

 

“Okay,” Sam said doubtfully. “I’ll see you soon I guess. I’d offer to pick you up from the airport but I gotta stay with the girls.” 

 

They said their goodbyes and Aaron resigned himself to another harrowing cab ride. When he finally got out at Kevin’s house, all he wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. 

 

Sam was sitting on the couch downstairs, waiting for him. 

 

“You look like shit,” she told him. “What happened?”

 

“I almost had a panic attack taking a taxi in New York,” Aaron said. “And then I had to take another one home from the airport just now.”

 

He couldn’t open his mental box of feelings about the Kevin Situation again tonight, he just wasn’t ready. Sam accepted his explanation without question, which he was grateful for. 

 

“I guess I’ll just head home then,” she said, getting up and walking towards the door. 

 

“It’s the middle of the night, you can sleep in the guest room,” Aaron said. He didn’t particularly want anyone else in the house right now, but he also wasn’t going to make his friend drive home at midnight. 

 

He didn’t know if Sam saw something in his face, but she said, “It’s not even that late for us normal people who don’t have kids. I’ll sleep better in my own bed anyway.”

 

Aaron walked her to the door and said goodnight, before heading upstairs to collapse into bed.

 

*

 

_ (10:13 p.m.) I’m so sorry, Aaron. _

 

_ (10:14 p.m.) I promise, this doesn’t have to affect our friendship. _

 

_ (10:15 p.m.) I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, so if you want me to move out for a while, I will.  _

 

_ (10:21 p.m.) Please just let me know what you need from me right now. _

 

_ (2:17 a.m.) i hope yuo made it home safe _

 

_ (2:33 a.m.) i tihnk i lobe you _

 

_ (2:33 a.m.) shit _

 

_ (2:34 a.m.) yuo should porbably ingore all these texts  _

 

_ (2:35 a.m.) jsut delet them withuot reading pls _

 

_ (3:04 a.m.) im gonna slep now  _

 

*

 

Aaron woke up disoriented. For a moment he forgot the previous night’s events, thinking it was just a normal day. Then it all came back to him. He flipped over his phone and saw that he had six more texts from Kevin, but once again he deleted the notifications without opening them. Taylor was already crying. Aaron headed for the nursery, trying to pretend it really was a regular day. 

 

As it turned out, it was impossible not to think about Kevin while in his house. Everywhere Aaron looked he saw reminders of the other man. Here was the book he’d lent Kevin a week ago. There was the spot where Kevin had been sitting when the girls crawled over from him to Aaron. They still needed to buy a gate for the stairs. 

 

Aaron needed to get out of this house. 

 

*

 

When Kevin got home, Aaron was gone. He checked his phone as he walked around the house, looking for any indication of when Aaron would be back, but there were no new texts. Finally, he saw the note on the table in the loft. 

 

_ Kevin, _

 

_ I need some time to process things.  _ _ I don’t _ _ I’m gonna stay at my own house for a while. I might be over later in the week to pick up some things. _

 

_ \- Aaron _

 

Kevin sank down onto the couch, head falling into his hands. He didn’t know how to fix this, but Aaron wanted space, so Kevin supposed he would have to wait. 

 

He grabbed the book he’d borrowed from Aaron, attempting to read for all of a minute before putting it down again. He couldn’t focus, his thoughts just kept returning to his friend. Finally, he went into his room and got out his Exy gear. If there was one thing that could consume all his attention, it was the court. 

 

*

 

Aaron was miserable. It had been a mistake to come home, because it didn’t feel like his home anymore. His life with Katelyn was here, but that wasn’t the life he was living now. He would never stop missing her, would never stop loving her, but at some point he had healed enough to start living again, and he had done that in Kevin’s house. Now, throwing himself back into his old life was jarring. 

 

Feeling like a stranger in his old home only added to the guilt weighing at him. He was leaving Katelyn behind, he should have never moved in with Kevin, he had probably lead the other man on. He knew he needed to talk to Betsy, but he couldn’t make himself call just yet. He figured he deserved to feel terrible right now, so he lay down on the couch to wallow in it. He couldn’t even bring himself to cry. 

 

Hours later, he dragged himself up to change Morgan’s diaper when she started crying. Distantly he recognized that he was hungry. There was no food in the house of course, so he ordered delivery before finally dialling Bee. 

 

“Hello?” she answered.

 

“Everything’s fucked,” Aaron said without preamble. “Kevin’s in love with me apparently, and I feel really guilty about that? Which is like, fucked up, because it’s not like it’s  _ my _ fault he has a crush on me. And I went back to my house to get some space to process things but nothing feels right because this isn’t like, my home anymore.”

 

Bee was quiet. He knew she was waiting him out, so he gave in and continued. “I’ve been miserable since I left the house this morning, and I don’t think it’s just because I’m back in my house and thinking about Katelyn. I-” He stopped, sucking in a breath. “I miss Kevin? It’s literally been less than 24 hours since I saw him, it’s not like he’s gone, I just feel shitty for leaving him like that. I have to go back, don’t I? It’s not like it’s his fault that he likes me, and if I hadn’t overheard him then I wouldn’t even know and everything would be normal.”

 

“It sounds like you already know what you need,” Bee told him. “Is there anything else you’d like to address in this call?”

 

“Is it fucked up that I’m choosing to live with someone who likes me when Katelyn hasn’t even been gone a year?”

 

“Of course not,” Bee said. “Everyone’s healing process is different, there’s no specific length of time that you have to reach before you’re allowed to form bonds with other people. And besides, as you said, you’re not responsible for Kevin’s feelings.”

 

“Okay,” Aaron sighed. “Thanks. I guess I’d better go.”

 

“Thank you for reaching out when you felt you needed support,” Bee said warmly. “I’ll talk to you on Wednesday.” 

 

“Right, Wednesday. Bye Bee,” Aaron said.

 

“Goodbye, Aaron,” Bee responded. 

 

Aaron hung up and started gathering things to bring out to the car. Just as he was walking into the nursery to get the twins ready to go, he remembered that he had ordered food. He paced around as he waited, noticing things he’d left behind when he first moved in with Kevin all those months ago. It might be time to sell the house. He knew he needed to talk to his friend first, and figure out if the dynamic was going to be fucked up between them after the previous night’s events. 

 

When his food arrived Aaron scarfed it down. He hadn’t realized how hungry he really was, but now that he thought about it, he hadn’t eaten since the night before. Taylor and Morgan had been satisfied with squirming around in their playpen for the morning, but they were starting to get fussy so Aaron gave them a late lunch before bringing them each out to the car. 

 

He got out his phone to text Kevin a heads up, and finally saw all his friend’s messages from the night before. Guilt coursed through Aaron all over again as he read the drunk texts from the middle of the night, but he pushed past it. 

 

_ (1:14 p.m.) i’m coming back. sorry for freaking out on you yesterday.  _

 

_ (1:15 p.m.) if you think it doesn’t have to affect our friendship i believe you.  _

 

_ (1:16 p.m.) let’s just move on for now. _

 

With that, Aaron closed the door on his former life once again. He got in the car and drove home. 

 


	12. Chapter 12

Aaron was really trying to move on and treat Kevin as if nothing had changed. It had been a few weeks since he found out about Kevin’s feelings, and his friend had done a remarkable job of not allowing their dynamic to change. No, it was entirely Aaron making things weird for himself. 

 

He found himself noticing tiny changes in Kevin’s expression, ones that must have been there before and that Kevin couldn’t possibly control. His features would soften when Aaron was playing with the twins. His brow furrowed tiny bit with concern when Aaron stubbed his toe one day. 

 

Today, Kevin’s eyes lit up when Aaron crossed the room after dinner to get a deck of cards off the shelf. They had both been treading a bit lightly for the past few weeks, but Aaron was determined to return to their regular daily life. He was pleased to see Kevin relax into the conversation over the course of the night as they played. 

 

Kevin had called his dad the night before, so he updated Aaron on how Wymack and Dan were doing with the new Foxes. “The senior goalie, Cooper, has real potential,” he was saying. “I think I’m going to talk to my coach about recruiting her because Chicago’s current goalie has nothing on your brother.” 

 

“Yeah, but can any goalie in the NEL really compete with Andrew?” Aaron countered, just for the sake of it. 

 

Kevin was never more animated than when he was talking about Exy. He didn’t disappoint now. “Andrew is definitely the most technically good and one of the most experienced goalies in the league, but there are younger players coming in with faster reflexes. Andrew’s skills come from his ability to read other players’ body language and memorize their common behaviours,” Kevin said, growing serious as he explained as though Aaron didn’t watch his own brother’s games. “When he was younger he was certainly the best goalie in the league, but none of us are in the peak physical condition we were at five or ten years ago.”

 

Aaron resisted the urge to give Kevin a slow once-over. He personally thought Kevin had been in peak physical condition ever since his left hand healed, and probably would be for most of his life. He mentally shook himself. 

 

“So you think Cooper will give Andrew a run for his money in a couple years?” Aaron asked, returning to the subject at hand.

 

“I would hope so,” Kevin said. “I can’t carry Chicago to the championship on my own. Their defense is pretty good, but the goalie is only passable. Neil won’t have any problem getting past them.”

 

“Is it gonna be weird for you to play against Andrew and Neil again?” Aaron asked curiously. 

 

“It will be…” Kevin paused, gathering his thoughts, “challenging, not being able to rely on them and learning how to work with my new team. But I think it will make me a better player. And besides,” he continued, “I’ll get to play with Andrew and Neil again at the Olympics next summer.”

 

“Don’t get cocky,” Aaron teased. “Weren’t you just telling me you’re getting too old for this? Maybe the U.S. Court will replace you.”

 

Kevin took Aaron’s teasing completely seriously, which of course only made it funnier. “We might each be getting slower and weaker as individuals, but they can’t deny our power as a team,” he told Aaron solemnly. “We’ve worked together for so long that we always know where the other is going to be. I don’t think they’ll replace us until we’ve all aged out of professional Exy completely.”

 

Aaron couldn’t hide his grin any longer. “I was joking, man, I’m pretty sure you’ll be Court until you’re like 60.”

 

“Oh,” Kevin looked down, smiling a bit. “Thanks.”

 

Aaron felt his stomach drop as though he had missed a step on the stairs. What was he doing? He had been trying for weeks to make sure his interactions with Kevin weren’t weird or charged, and now he was- What? Flirting with him? 

 

He didn’t know what to do when Kevin looked at him like that. He wasn’t ready to follow this train of thought to its conclusion, so he retreated to solid ground instead. “Are we playing cards or what? It’s your turn.”

 

Kevin gave him the out, apparently still afraid to push his luck. A small smile played at his lips for the rest of the game though, and Aaron could barely stop glancing at it.

 

*

 

It was like once Aaron had started noticing himself noticing Kevin, he couldn’t stop. He found himself actively looking for ways to make Kevin smile, whether it was with teasing comments or cute videos of whatever the twins had gotten up to when Kevin was out of the house. 

 

It occurred to him that it was a good thing Kevin had his own ensuite, because if Aaron had to see him walking around half naked like he used to in university, he might combust. 

 

It was Wednesday today, and Kevin was already out at the court when it was time for Aaron to call Betsy. Aaron was still paranoid though, locking himself in his room before he brought up the confusing feelings he’d been trying not to think too hard about. He had waited until the last fifteen minutes of the appointment, knowing if he started with this that he’d spend the whole hour on it. 

 

“So, I think I might like Kevin?” He phrased it like a question, even though he was suspecting more and more that it wasn’t. “I don’t really, uh, I don’t know what to think about that? I’ve been working a lot, like you said, on not feeling guilty about Katelyn. You know, because she’s gone, and I’m supposed to move on and still have a life.” He knew he was rambling, but he couldn’t stop. “But I don’t know if I’m ready to do anything about this? But then, I already know Kevin is into me, so not doing anything about it kind of feels like wasting time. So, yeah,” he finished weakly. 

 

“You have all the time in the world,” Bee began. “There’s no need to rush into things. That being said, I am so proud of the progress you’ve made in these past few months. I think the fact that you were able to recognize these feelings in yourself and examine them is a sign of how far you’ve come. You may find that you’re more ready than you think.” 

 

“So you think I should go for it?” Aaron demanded. 

 

“Only you can make that choice,” Bee told him. “I think you’re the best judge of what you’re ready for.”

 

“Right,” Aaron sighed. “Okay. I think I’m going to wait.”

 

“Okay,” Bee said. “Is there anything else you want to address in the last few minutes of our session?”

 

“I don’t think so,” Aaron said. “I guess… I guess we could probably drop down to biweekly sessions, if you feel like I’ve made a lot of progress. I definitely feel like the sessions have helped a lot since the accident, and don’t think I’m relying as heavily on them as I was when we started.”

 

“I think that sounds reasonable,” Betsy agreed. “So we’ll set our next one for two weeks from now?”

 

“Yeah, sounds good,” Aaron said. “So I guess I’ll talk to you then. Bye, Bee.”

 

“Goodbye, Aaron,” Bee responded. 

 

Aaron hung up, feeling like he had gained a secret that he didn’t have space for. Logically he knew that the truth about Kevin had been ruminating in his mind already, even if he hadn’t been acknowledging it. Now he had acknowledged it though, and he didn’t know how he was going to talk to Kevin normally when it felt like everything had changed. 

 

Luckily, Taylor woke up from her nap just minutes after Aaron’s call ended, and he was distracted for the moment from thinking any further on the subject.

 

*

 

Once the girls were in bed that night, Aaron and Kevin sat down in the loft to watch a movie like they had so many times before. Aaron barely saw any of the film, too aware of the inches between himself and Kevin on the couch. 

 

As the credits came on, he glanced at his friend. “Hey Kevin,” he started, intending to ask something mundane like whether the striker had practice the next day. Kevin looked up at him though and Aaron lost his train of thought. He stared into Kevin’s eyes for a beat too long, unconsciously licking his lips. 

 

Kevin’s eyes darted down to Aaron’s mouth and back up, and Aaron thought,  _ fuck it _ . He leaned forward and kissed Kevin. He both heard and felt Kevin’s breath catch, before his hand came up to thread through Aaron’s hair, tugging him closer. Aaron grasped at Kevin’s shoulder, needing to anchor himself in order to prove that this was really happening. 

 

Eventually, they both had to pull back for air. Aaron rested his forehead on Kevin’s shoulder, blindly reaching for his hand. 

 

“Is this really okay?” Kevin asked. 

 

“Yeah,” Aaron said. “I think it is. Just… let’s take it slow?”

 

“Of course,” Kevin agreed. “Whatever you want.”

 

“Do you think-” Aaron started haltingly. “Could we lie down together?”

 

“I’d like that,” Kevin said. He hesitated, and it occurred to Aaron that the other man might be just as nervous as him. “Do you want to come sleep in my room? Just to sleep,” he hurried to add. “We don’t have to rush anything.”

 

“Okay,” Aaron said. “I’d like that.”

 

They got up, both grinning like fools, and Aaron headed to his room to throw on some pajama pants. When he walked into Kevin’s room after brushing his teeth, he found his friend- boyfriend? He would have to clear that up. He found Kevin already lying on the bed with the covers pulled back. 

 

Aaron turned off the light and carefully made his way across the room, crawling into bed next to Kevin. Once his eyes adjusted a bit to the dark, he threw an arm over Kevin, gently kissing his bare shoulder. 

 

“Good night, Kev.”

 

“Night Aaron,” Kevin mumbled, apparently already half asleep, “love you.”

 

Aaron didn’t know if he was ready to make declarations of love just yet, but he was pretty sure he would get there, and Kevin had already proven himself patient.


	13. Epilogue

“Hey Dad,” Morgan called as they walked into the kitchen where Kevin was making dinner. “Where’s Dad?”

 

“He should be home from work any minute now,” Kevin told them. “He’s just picking up Taylor from her guitar lesson.” 

 

“He knows I have a game tonight, right?” Morgan asked.

 

“Of course he does, it’s been on the calendar ever since you made the team,” Kevin assured them. “We’ll all be there. Can you set the table?”

 

Morgan started pulling dishes out of the cupboard. Just in time, Aaron and Taylor walked through the front door. “Dinner’s on!” Kevin called out to them. 

 

The meal passed quickly as Taylor and Morgan updated each other and their parents on the gossip from their different friend groups. The twins couldn’t be more different, but they had grown up always having each other’s backs first and foremost. Soon, Kevin was rushing Morgan out the door to meet up with their team while Aaron and Taylor cleared the table. 

 

The high school was only a few blocks away and the first game of the season was a home game, so they walked over. Kevin had gone ahead with Morgan to get seats, and he waved Aaron and Taylor over when they arrived. 

 

It was Morgan’s first year on the Exy team, so they weren’t on the starting line. They had a good coach though who clearly strived to give everyone some play time, and towards the end of the first half, Morgan ran onto the court. They took up their post at first fourth, and between the short blonde hair and the backliner gear, Kevin swore he saw Aaron out their for a moment. 

 

When Morgan intercepted the ball and managed to pass it up the court to their dealer, Kevin thought he’d never been prouder in his life. 

 

*

 

After the game, the family walked home together. Taylor and Morgan were walking with their heads bent together, clearly conspiring, while Aaron and Kevin trailed behind, hand in hand. 

 

“Hey Dad,” Taylor started, braids swishing as she spun to face them.

 

“Yes?” Kevin and Aaron responded in unison. 

 

“Can we have ice cream when we get home?” She slung an arm around her sibling’s shoulders. “To celebrate Morgan’s first game?”

 

“Yeah,” Aaron said, “I think we can manage that.”

 

Taylor turned back around and kept walking, and Aaron squeezed Kevin’s hand. “Morgan’s going to grow up to be better than you,” he told his husband.

 

“I hope so,” Kevin replied. “When I saw them out there in the backliner gear tonight, they reminded me so much of you.”

 

Kevin always said that the twins took after Aaron more, but Aaron didn’t think it was true. With their slightly tanned skin and piercing green eyes, Aaron always saw Kevin shining through. He didn’t bother arguing though. 

 

As the house came into sight, Morgan glanced back and shouted, “Race you!” and they all took off towards the home they’d built together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! If there's any demand for it I'd be happy to write more in this universe, so please send prompts my way! I'm over at [myfathercomestoallofmygames](http://myfathercomestoallofmygames.tumblr.com) on tumblr :)


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